Fire and Ice
by Senshi of Ruin
Summary: Emotions such as love are forbidden in the Dark Kingdom. When Zoisite first seduces Kunzite he does so for rank and for power. But what happens when he actually falls in love with the man he is supposed to be using?
1. Chapter One

Fire and Ice

By Shari

A/N: I must be in the mood to write or something this week, one update from me is rare enough but two? *Looks amazed* that's almost unheard of! Anyways this is just a short little ficcie I am writing and will probably be about ten chapters long – well I have to do something with my day don't I? As always reviews are accepted and CC appreciated. Flames are not and will be laughed at and then used to toast CB. 

Disclaimer: Once again I own nothing – if I did I would not be here but making my ficcies into anime, something that will sadly never happen *cries*

Chapter One:

"They call him the Ice King you know" Jadeite said, allowing nothing but casual indifference into his voice as he leaned back against the burgundy sofa, a glass of whisky in hand. 

"A fitting description" Nephrite agreed evenly, he too was sipping from a glass, his azure gaze being directed into the flickering fireplace between the two men. Jadeite had a headache, indeed they had plagued him for three months now, ever since Beryl decided to inflict a student on him with the idea of putting Jadeite's knowledge and skills to good use or so she said. Jadeite decided that in other words she wanted someone out of her hair and the lowest ranking of her three kings was the ideal person to take him off her hands. 

"Of course no one has dared say it to his face" the blond continued, gulping down the last of his whisky and reaching for another, deciding for tonight at least, whilst his pupil was out of his way he could forget about him… hopefully.  

"Of course not" Nephrite again agreed. Jadeite had to admit he was growing weary of auburn haired man's company each night. Since Kunzite, the most powerful of the three kings of the Dark Kingdom, had been away for six months Nephrite had virtually taken over the older king's responsibilities and privileges that being the most powerful king in the kingdom offered. Now Kunzite was due to return from Pluto, where he and a handful of soldiers had been trying to forge some allies against the Moon Kingdom, it meant Nephrite would receive an instant demotion, especially as Queen Beryl was so pleased with Kunzite's success on the outer planet. Of course it wouldn't affect Jadeite in the slightest but he could not say he was happy about Kunzite's return. The oldest king was virtually indomitable and Jadeite had yet to meet anyone who could pose a serious threat to the man's position and rank within the kingdom and unless Kunzite did something to royally piss Beryl off things were unlikely to change and Jadeite had accepted it. He had no aspirations of becoming the first among the kings and neither had Nephrite, until Kunzite had gone away that was. Power had gone to the second king's head it would seem. Still Jadeite was growing weary of Nephrite's company and constant presence in his quarters until the small hours. Jadeite, again, could only guess that Nephrite was hoping to form an alliance with him against Kunzite. This of course would never happen Jadeite had made himself perfectly clear to his superior king. He certainly did not want to cross Kunzite unless he had a death wish. 

"How's the head?" Nephrite abruptly changed the subject, noting perhaps Jadeite's discomfort and the blond had mentioned to Nephrite that he had a headache and would prefer an early night to these small hours drinking sessions. Nephrite had not taken the hint and insisted that a couple of drinks later Jadeite would forget all about the throbbing in his skull. This had happened but the third king decided that he would feel worse come the morning due to a large hangover. 

"Still pounding" Jadeite lied, setting his whisky glass down and giving an over exaggerated yawn "I might call it a night."

Nephrite ignored this last statement and said; "You are still not adjusting to life as a teacher?"

Jadeite scowled at the mention of his wayward pupil, he had wanted to forget about 'him' for one night and this caused Nephrite to start chuckling. "I have yet to have the rather dubious pleasure of meeting the man that can irk the third king so. Where is he tonight? From what I heard he's very easy on the eyes."

"He is" Jadeite replied softly, "If you like that kind of thing."

Nephrite smirked, "I don't but rumour has it he looks like a woman."

Jadeite nodded again, not really interested in discussing the thorn in his side but Nephrite seemed eager to pursue this topic of conversation. "So what does he look like?" he pressed when Jadeite offered no description. 

"He's slightly built, a very delicate face, long eye lashes, huge jewel like emerald green eyes, golden blond hair, pale skin, he does look rather feminine I suppose."

Nephrite chuckled again "The way you talk it sounds as though you are in love with him."

It was Jadeite's turn to scoff now, making a small noise in the back of his throat he shook his head and replied, "Looks can be deceiving."

"Oh? How is that?"

"He's got a temper, more so than even you. God help anyone who makes this one mad. He has a nasty temper and a nasty attitude to match. He has killed several lower ranking officers already, mostly because they made remarks similar to yours. Zoisite may look helpless but he's the most vindictive and volatile creature in the entire kingdom. The crazy thing is that he could make a great king if he kept that temper under control and actually bothered to listen to me occasionally. He lets his emotions rule over him. I swear that will be his undoing. Beryl-sama seems to like him though" This last sentence was purely a musing and Jadeite had not intended for his thoughts to become spoken words. 

"Beryl likes him?" Nephrite raised an eyebrow. 

Jadeite sighed, massaging his now throbbing temples with a hand, setting the empty glass down with his other before replying, "Zoisite is Beryl's pet project it would seem. We have had a few audiences with her since I was instructed to train him and it would seem that Beryl deliberately riles him. I think it gives her pleasure to watch the little rat struggling to keep his temper in check. Of course he doesn't dare answer her back. He usually screams and rants about her afterwards."

"Interesting" Nephrite murmured, and for a moment there was silence between them before he abruptly said "So what do you think of the new recruits that came over from Saturn last month? Have any of them actually got potential or are we wasting our time?"

Jadeite was somewhat startled by this topic change but was glad of it and quickly formulated a reply before Nephrite started on again on either Kunzite's return or Jadeite's disrespectful student. 

*****

It turned out that Nephrite only stayed for another round and then announced that he was tired and would retire to his Tokyo mansion for the remainder of the evening. This was somewhat surprising but Jadeite had no protests, his headache had returned with a sudden and very painful ferocity. 

The auburn haired man stood, wobbling slightly and it was only by pure luck that he managed to open a portal. Jadeite felt a smile tugging at his lips and said, "Are you sure you should go to Earth in your state?" this of course reminding both men of an incident two years ago that resulted in a very drunk Nephrite attempting to open a portal to Tokyo and ending up in the South Pole where he had passed out and would have spent the night there had Jadeite not realised that something was wrong with the portal and went to look for him. 

Nephrite scowled "I am not _that _drunk."

"What ever you say," Jadeite grinned. 

Nephrite snorted and then paused, as if something had just occurred to him "Zoisite"

"What about him?" this time Jadeite made no attempt to hide the annoyance in his voice. 

"Is he a virgin?"

"What?" 

"Is he a virgin?" Nephrite repeated somewhat impatiently. 

Jadeite shook his head "Not if you believe the stories the lower officers tell. According to them he's been under more men than the goddess of Venus and all to obtain his present rank."

"Interesting" Nephrite smiled slightly, repeating his word of early when talking of the aforementioned student. 

"What are you thinking?" Jadeite demanded suspiciously. When he was instructed to train the little rat he had made it perfectly clear that this kind of behaviour had to stop, lest Jadeite's name be tarnished by his student's bedtime activities. Of course now all in the Dark Kingdom who had eyes and ears assumed that Jadeite was keeping his student for his own uses and Jadeite allowed them to believe this simply because no one would dare touch Zoisite if they believed that the third king was sleeping with him though in reality Jadeite had never once taken Zoisite and had no desire to do so.

"Bring him to that audience with Beryl-sama we have tomorrow morning" was Nephrite's response. 

"She will not allow it" Jadeite shook his head, "She was adamant that only us, her kings, are present."

"I am sure you will think of something" Nephrite smirked and turned to leave. 

"What are you planning?" Jadeite tried again to obtain some information from his fellow king. If Nephrite wanted Zoisite for a night… against his better judgement that could be arranged. The small man was rather irritating to say the least.

"Fire melts ice" was the cryptic reply and then he was gone leaving Jadeite to ponder the nights conversation. He couldn't help but wonder where this was all leading.


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two:

"I do not see why I have to be present?" 

Jadeite winced at the whining tone in his student's voice and resisted the urge to slap that pretty mouth which was presently curved into a feral sneer. He already had a headache as a result of the night before and did not need Zoisite adding to it. Still the final words spoken between himself and Nephrite were so curious that Jadeite felt that he had to bring Zoisite to the audience with him as the older king had requested simply to see where he was going with this. Zoisite, however, was less than thrilled at the prospect of appearing before Beryl without being summoned. Tugging on the ends of his brightly coloured ponytail, his delicate face set in a pout he continued to utter his protests. 

"I am your teacher and you will do as I instruct" Jadeite replied softly, not meeting the blazing emerald eyes and allowing a hardened edge to his voice which anyone would recognise as meaning that Jadeite was just about to lose his temper, which seldom happened with anyone other than Zoisite. 

"But what for?" he pouted, ignoring all the warning signs. He really is like a child, Jadeite mused, his blue eyes narrowing he glared at Zoisite and prepared to aim a blast of energy at the younger man which would hopefully render the nasty little rat unconscious for several days when his curiosity pulled his temper into check. 

"Consider it a part of your training." Jadeite replied instead through gritted teeth. 

Zoisite pulled a stony face but ceased in his protests and Jadeite located his jacket, which had been thrown over the back of a chair after his drinking session had ended and pulled it on, quickly buttoning it and checking his appearance in the small mirror hanging by his bedroom door before turning to Zoisite. 

"Are you ready?"

The younger man nodded, the scowl still fixed firmly onto his face. 

"Good" Jadeite forced a smile at the sulking pretty boy and focussed on a teleport that took him directly outside the throne room. He half expected Zoisite not to bother following him but sure enough the man appeared beside him, as his trademark Sakura petals faded Jadeite noted that he had stopped pouting and smiled encouragingly at him. To this Zoisite scowled and turned away, his arms folded across his chest. Jadeite sighed, running a hand through his short hair he decided to greet Nephrite, who was leaning against the door to the throne room, his gaze resting on the feminine student at Jadeite's side. 

"Did you teach him to do that trick with the blossoms?" was the first thing Nephrite said as Jadeite drew nearer "Very cute."

"Of course not" Jadeite huffed, annoyed with his colleagues laid back attitude "I have been trying to un-teach it for the last month. He is incredibly stubborn…"

"And beautiful" Nephrite added. 

Jadeite cast a glance at Zoisite and then back at Nephrite "Even the most beautiful rose has its thorns."

"I wouldn't expect otherwise" Nephrite replied. 

"So what is this all about?"

"All of what?"

"Don't play dumb. Why did you want me to bring Zoisite along? Beryl is going to have my head on a platter as it is…"

"She won't mind. Zoisite is her 'pet project' after all. Just tell her you wanted him to observe a senior officers strategic meeting or something along those lines. She is too excited over Kunzite's successes to care very much one way or the other."

Jadeite knew this to be true but that did not mean that he had to like it. "Where is Kunzite anyway?" he cast a look around and could not see the first king anywhere in the vicinity. "I assume he has to be present here too?"

"He does. Beryl called him in ahead of us." Nephrite scowled at this, "They will probably decide the entire strategy against the Moon Kingdom now and inform us of it when we are summoned before her."

Jadeite silently nodded, agreeing with this; after all he had seen it happen on a number of occasions. Still it would not be wise for one to criticise Beryl outside her throne room. 

At this particular moment Zoisite decided that he was bored simply standing around and stomped over to the kings, not even acknowledging Nephrite's presence he instead started to complain about being made to wait. 

"I thought you were an important king" he sneered at Jadeite "And here we are standing outside her door like a pair of naughty school boys."

"We have to wait to be summoned inside" Jadeite hissed, praying to all the deities that Beryl was too absorbed in her plans to conquer the moon than what was being said right outside her throne room. 

"Well" Zoisite huffed loudly, "_I_ don't even have to be here. That was your bright idea remember?"

"And I am already regretting it" Jadeite muttered darkly, and then louder "Zoisite for once in your life shut the hell up. Do you realise how much trouble you could get us into?"

Zoisite wrinkled his nose, managing to look extremely cute as he did so and pulled a face. He opened his mouth to retort when the throne room doors opened and Nephrite who had been leaning against them almost toppled forward into the room. Jadeite winced as Beryl's grating summons reached his ears. It was time, Jadeite suddenly felt nauseous at the thought of facing Beryl with Zoisite in tow but by then the pretty man had marched into the room, in full view of Beryl and Kunzite. 

Here it comes… 

"JADEITE! WHAT IS HE DOING HERE?"

_So much for her not minding _Jadeite thought ruefully. 

********

The audience went well, Jadeite supposed as they left the room, one behind the other after hearing Beryl's decision. After spending a few minutes screaming at him for bringing Zoisite to a 'kings only strategy review' Beryl had decided that Jadeite's excuse, that he wanted Zoisite to learn about tactics and since Beryl was a master tactician he thought that Zoisite should learn from the master, was a good enough one. Of course flattery got you everywhere in the Dark Kingdom and Beryl 'graciously' allowed Zoisite to stay. Again Nephrite had been right in saying that Beryl and Kunzite had decided on the best course of action against the Moon Kingdom long before they had entered and Beryl was simply sharing information. This infuriated Nephrite more so than ever and Jadeite could sense that the king was near breaking point. Still Jadeite was surprised when Nephrite abruptly addressed Kunzite, enquiring if there was anything he could do to speed up the planned attack on the Moon, which according to Beryl's calculations would not be possible for at least another five years as Metallia-sama needed time to awaken and then the necessary energy that would be spent in an attack would have to be gathered from Earth. 

Kunzite, as ice like as ever, told Nephrite that he might want to spend less time in his mansion drinking and more time gathering energy if he was that keen on attacking sooner than planned. If this infuriated the man more he hid it well, instead saying that he would endeavour to do his best to aid the revival of Queen Metallia. 

"And what were you thinking of?" Kunzite was addressing Jadeite now; looking at the blond as if he were no more than a lowly Youma, his ice blue gaze fixed firmly on the third king "Why bring the little one to such an audience? You are very lucky Beryl-sama did not punish you both."

Zoisite bristled at the name 'little one' and unfortunately this did not go unnoticed. Jadeite felt the corners of his mouth tugging upwards into a pleased smile. If Kunzite wanted to punish Zoisite for his disrespect then he was certainly not going to stand in the older king's way. 

The Ice King regarded Zoisite coolly for a few minutes, never taking his eyes of the pretty face and then, taking Zoisite completely by surprise he clasped the younger man's chin in an unbreakable grip and said softly "You should not frown so much little one. It only mar's your beauty."

Zoisite struggled to free his chin and when he failed to break Kunzite's grip his gaze darted to Jadeite, looking for help. Kunzite chuckled and released him, causing the man to stumble backwards slightly. Then, without another word, Kunzite made his leave. Jadeite waited until the pinkish light of his teleport signature had faded before turning to Nephrite. 

"What was that all about?"

The auburn haired man smiled, "Join me for a drink this evening and you might just find out."

"Oh and bring the little one too" he added as an after thought. 

Jadeite sighed and allowed him to go before turning his attentions back to Zoisite. The smaller man was gingerly touching his chin and looked positively furious. 

"Come" Jadeite decided to ignore this and opened a portal back to his quarters. Zoisite shot him a dirty look and stormed through leaving Jadeite again to wonder what exactly Nephrite had planned. 

******

Kunzite sat alone in his quarters, attempting to study the intricate figures and details of Beryl's planned attack on the Moon Kingdom, searching for flaws in her scheme. Beryl had requested on the quiet that he do this, she could simply not handle another humiliating defeat she had confided in him before the entrance of Jadeite and Nephrite and of course Jadeite's student. Kunzite smiled slightly at the thought of the little one. He really must irk Jadeite so; Kunzite thought to himself and tried to imagine what it must be like training someone as volatile as the little one. Still Kunzite had meant what he said. The little one was breathtakingly beautiful. He regretted that he had not enquired more about him. Kunzite sighed, slamming the book shut. He, unknown to anyone, liked things of beauty. Beauty, in the Dark Kingdom, was a rarity and Kunzite felt that any such beauty should be nurtured and he often took it upon himself to look after such beauty and indeed even all the beauty on Earth did not compare with the little one. He would have to get to know Jadeite's student better, Kunzite decided. After all such beauty was wasted being in possession of the third king.   

A/N: Well I finally got online and was able to post this. Thank you to everyone who reviewed this. It's good to know that there are still Zoisite/Kunzite fans out there somewhere!


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three:

For Jadeite the evening couldn't have come sooner enough. Zoisite had been an absolute nightmare for the entire duration of the afternoon. The incident with Kunzite had not helped matters and for an hour Jadeite was forced to listen to the angry cursing coming from his student's bedroom on the subject. Finally the blond had snapped and told Zoisite, in an ice like voice that could have rivalled the first king, that if he did not shut up then would give him to the Ice King as his pet (which was what Nephrite was planning upon doing anyway, Jadeite thought with some satisfaction, Zoisite was really getting on his nerves). Zoisite surprisingly had done so and promptly stormed out of the house deciding that he was going to vent his frustrations out on any luckless Youma who happened to be present in the training fields. 

Jadeite allowed him to go, instructing him to be at Nephrite's manse no later than eight to discuss today's audience with Beryl, or that was what Jadeite assumed Nephrite wanted to discuss. When 7.30 finally rolled around Jadeite set out alone for the mansion, he was beginning to get an uneasy feeling about the entire thing. 

Nephrite immediately offered the blond a drink when he appeared in the auburn haired man's front room, taking a seat on the black leather sofa. Against his better judgement Jadeite accepted the glass of red wine that was offered and Nephrite took a seat in a chair opposite him and requested to know where the little Sakura had got too. 

"I told him to come along at eight" Jadeite replied, "Not that I am entirely sure that he will bother to turn up. He has been in a furious mood ever since that incident with Kunzite this morning."

Nephrite smirked, "So I take it he is plotting revenge against our first king as we speak?"

Jadeite shook his head "Not likely. Even Zoisite is not fool enough to take on Kunzite alone."

"Which brings me straight to the point. I believe he can."

Jadeite snorted at this, taking a large sip of wine "Zoisite is powerful but Kunzite would kill him the instant he raised his hand."

"Yes" Nephrite agreed evenly, looking into the glass rather than meeting Jadeite's gaze. "I am not suggesting that Zoisite fights Kunzite and nor am I suggesting that the three of us fight him. There are other ways to obtain power within the kingdom. There are other ways to manipulate even the most ice like of kings, if you get my meaning."

"Fire melts ice," Jadeite murmured repeating Nephrite's earlier response to his questioning and then he shook his head suddenly very interested in what Nephrite had to say. 

"Simple" the auburn haired man smirked, "Zoisite has to seduce Kunzite."

"How will that help us obtain a better rank?"

"If Zoisite manages to get close to the Ice King then he can plant something in his room that will royally piss Beryl off enough to get rid of him. As second king I will receive a promotion, you will automatically go up a rank and there will be an opening for a third king… Zoisite. You said he was ambitious. This is the perfect opportunity for us all to get what we want."

Jadeite had to admit it was an interesting plan but there were flaws "How do you know that Kunzite will take a liking to Zoisite and not fry him on the spot if he does reject the Sakura's advances?"

Nephrite chuckled, "I have heard that Kunzite likes to walk on both sides of the street and you saw the way he looked at Zoisite. Of course these are rumours and if they happen to be untrue and Zoisite is killed then at least he is out of your hair and maybe Beryl will become angered at Kunzite for killing her little project."

"What about Zoisite? You do realise he cannot be trusted. What if he decides to ally himself with Kunzite against us?"

Nephrite sighed, "Gods what do I have to say to convince you? Zoisite is not going to ally himself with Kunzite. You saw his reaction when Kunzite grabbed his chin. He hates the first king even more than perhaps me and even if he does decide to betray us he will be dragging himself down too. I am sure that the Ice King would hate to be humiliated so."

Jadeite nodded, considering what the other was suggesting. Nephrite's plan could work and even if it did back fire Jadeite could always claim that he had nothing to do with it after all he had been promoted to his current position through his intelligence and skills as an warrior not because he slept his way to the top or killed any rivals as had Zoisite, Nephrite and Kunzite. Jadeite had never shown any interest in obtaining a better rank but if one could be obtained at relative ease then why should he be against it? Also, he had to admit that he wouldn't mind seeing Kunzite killed. The first king's superior attitude really did rile him at times. 

"Very well" he agreed, "Now all we have to do is convince Zoisite."

******

Zoisite was bored. After killing twenty or so Youma to vent his anger he was left feeling bitter and a little humiliated after the events of the morning. How dare Kunzite treat him like that? Little one… he'd show him little one… if he could just get near enough to the so called Ice King he would show him how dangerous the 'little one' could be and perhaps finish of Jadeite and that fool Nephrite too. Hells he'd kill them all one day and anyone else who dared refer to his small stature or feminine looks. Of course it was these looks alone that got Zoisite where was today in the kingdom hierarchy. Zoisite was not ashamed of the acts he had committed to acquire his present rank. If he had played fair then he would still be a lowly soldier in Beryl's army taking orders from stupid Youma or worse a higher ranking officer who would beat him during day and fuck him senseless at night. 

"Little one" he scoffed to himself, suddenly recalling that Jadeite had requested his presence at Nephrite's manse sometime soon. Zoisite briefly debated whether to go or to ignore his orders as he usually did. Shrugging his slim shoulders he initiated a teleport sequence. It was better than sitting around Jadeite's home awaiting the blonde's return. So far the king had ignored Zoisite and his less than subtle advances so he couldn't help but wonder why they wished to speak with him now. He had caught Nephrite staring at him twice that day. Zoisite frowned at this thought. Though he would sleep with the second king if it meant surpassing Jadeite in rank it did not mean he had to like it. Nephrite was most definitely not his type. 

The two kings looked up at his appearance and Jadeite, at least, had a guilty expression upon his face. Zoisite frowned, as he suspected they were laughing about him behind his back! He scowled, debating whether to turn around right now and leave the older men to their drinking. This thought was cut short when Nephrite addressed him, asking him to take a seat between them but using the tone of voice that suggested that the student had no choice in the matter. Zoisite complied, his curiosity getting the better of him. Nephrite offered him a glass of wine, which Zoisite declined and instead demanded exactly what they wanted from him. 

"Your help of course" was the smug reply, unintentionally confirming (in Zoisite's mind) his earlier suspicions that Nephrite wanted to sleep with him. Still, being sat between the too men was rather uncomfortable. Zoisite squirmed, wondering if they were both going to pounce on him now rather than wait until he consented. Noting his discomfort Jadeite gave him a curious look before realisation dawned in his eyes. 

"No not like that!" and Zoisite pouted at the horrified look etched across the blonde's face. Was he really that unattractive in Jadeite's eyes?

"We have a proposition for you" Nephrite took a careful sip from his glass and leaned back on the sofa, his lofty gaze resting on Zoisite. The student could feel Jadeite was also watching for him and awaiting his reaction. "How would you like to earn a rank that at the moment you can only dream of obtaining, even by your underhand methods?" Nephrite continued. 

The man had intrigued Zoisite but also given him cause for some concern. What exactly were these two plotting?

"What sort of proposition?" he asked.

"I assume that today was the first time you have met Kunzite" Nephrite answered, "As you know he is the most powerful of us."

"You wish to change that?"

"Of course" Nephrite took a deep breath "With your help that is."

*******

Zoisite paced up and down his small bedroom in Jadeite's quarters wondering what he should do. It was the first time he had been in such a dilemma and it left him at a complete loss. Nephrite's plan seemed safe enough. All he had to do was seduce Kunzite. The two kings did not think this would be a problem owing to Zoisite's beauty but the man is question was not so sure. Nephrite had instructed Zoisite to accompany him on an inspection of the troops tomorrow, an inspection that only the first and second kings of the Dark Kingdom were permitted to carry out. Kunzite and Nephrite were not particularly close due to the fact that Kunzite cared little for anything in the kingdom except for pleasing Beryl and Nephrite was insanely jealous of Kunzite's sway with the queen of the darkness. However, the second king had assured Zoisite that he could get him close to Kunzite. Then, he had said, with a hint of joyful malice hidden in his voice, that Zoisite was on his own. 

It was not the actual task at hand that daunted Zoisite so. He was slightly attracted to Kunzite even though he despised the man. Gritting his teeth and recalling the incident earlier in the day, Zoisite realised that he had made up his mind. He was going to make Kunzite pay for humiliating him so in front of the other kings. Zoisite chuckled to himself at the prospect of wiping the confident smirk off of the first king's face. This was going to be one task assigned to him that he would truly enjoy every moment of. 


	4. Chapter Four

Written: By Shari

Beta Read: SailorTerra1

Chapter Four:

Nephrite frowned, pacing up and down inside his mansion, listening to the irritating rapping on the oak door. Kunzite was early and there was no sign of Zoisite. Cursing the little man, Nephrite was about to call the entire thing off. He could blame it on a migraine and suggest to Kunzite that they reschedule. 

He sighed, about to cross the room to the door, thus informing Kunzite of this 'headache' when he heard soft laughter behind him. Nephrite growled inaudibly. Only Zoisite could manage to raise his ire with just one laugh. The boy levitated to the ground beside the second king, his hair loose from its usual ponytail and flowing in golden waves down his back, some shorter pieces framing his delicate face. 

"You are cutting it fine" Nephrite growled angrily "I was about to call the entire thing off."

Zoisite shrugged and licked his lips "I like to take my time in the mornings" and the nodded towards the door and added disdainfully "Aren't you going to answer that? The knocking is giving me a headache."

Scowling Nephrite marched over to the door and pulled it open. 

"Where have you been?" Kunzite demanded frostily, the first of the kings was not used to being kept waiting "We are late" and then a "Oh… I see the little one is here. Had I known you were otherwise occupied I would have requested that Jadeite accompanied me." 

Being late was entirely untrue and in fact they were still early but Kunzite, being the first of the kings had the luxury of deciding when Nephrite was early and when he was late. Still it did not mean he wished for Kunzite to think that he and Zoisite had… Nephrite shuddered in disgust as his mind processed this thought. Zoisite may be beautiful but Nephrite found himself growing to detest the little man. 

"Jadeite requested that Zoisite attend as part of his training" Nephrite shrugged, "Beryl-sama also thought it to be a good idea," he added smugly. 

Kunzite's grey eyes narrowed as he regarded the little man at Nephrite's side. To this Zoisite gave him a shy smile and twirled a stray piece of hair around a delicate finger in an attempt to look cute. Kunzite, completely unaffected by this simply turned and muttered again about being late and disappeared in a flash of pink light, obviously expecting them to follow him. 

"This is not going to work," Zoisite muttered as he gathered his own energies for a teleport to the designated part of the kingdom. 

Nephrite too had a slight cause for concern but pushed it down inside of him and snapped "He is hardly likely to jump on you with me present is he? Now listen to what I tell you and follow the plan accordingly or I swear you will live to regret it. You need to get inside his manse and to do that we need too…"

Zoisite frowned; he disliked this plan more and more by the minute.

*******

Kunzite looked over his shoulder for the third time and scowled at his trailing comrades. The entire morning had been a waste as far as the Ice King was concerned. The new 'recruits' if they could even call them that were a poor bunch who would serve as nothing more than cannon fodder. Most were good looking young men who were offered the choice of being one of Beryl's 'servants' or fighting in a Youma army against the Earth and Moon Kingdoms and had picked the latter. 

There were a select few that could be of some use, Kunzite supposed, taking a mental note of them before again turning back to his colleague and the pitiful excuse for a student. It was obvious to Kunzite that Nephrite couldn't stand Zoisite so why allow the little one to accompany them? The auburn haired man was known to ignore even Beryl if she said something that was not to his liking. These concerns were cast aside by the sudden appearance of Tetis. Tetis was a Youma who specialised in water attacks and answered directly to Beryl through more often than not the elemental could be found hanging around Jadeite, it would seem she had taken quite a liking to the blond king. 

"Nephrite-sama, Kunzite-sama" she acknowledged the kings with a bow and then turning to the auburn haired man she added, "Beryl-sama requests your presence immediately, Nephrite-sama."

Kunzite, with approval, noted the fear flickering across his rival's eyes before it was replaced with confusion "Now? May I ask why?"

"Beryl-sama did not say but she was most insistent Nephrite-sama" Tetis trembled slightly, "She was not in the best of moods. If you do not mind me saying, I think it would be dangerous to keep her waiting."

Nephrite sighed, "Very well then" and then started when he realised that he had Zoisite with him "You will remain with Kunzite until I return" he instructed softly and disappeared in a flash of red light before either man could protest. Tetis too made her exit, smiling slightly as she did so. Kunzite sighed to himself. Now he was stuck with the little Sakura for the remainder of the day. Though inwardly his heart leapt at the chance to spend some time with Jadeite's student without it looking suspicious, Kunzite was not all together sure that this was a wise move. 

"It would seem your teachings will have to be cut short" he turned to the smaller man. Zoisite was standing a little way away, nervously chewing on his lower lip. He jumped slightly when he realised that he was being addressed and quickly lowered his gaze submissively. "You will return to Jadeite-san and explain the situation."

At this the little one's eyes filled with horror and fear "But Kunzite-sama! It was Beryl-sama who instructed me to come here! If I return to Jadeite-sama now…" he trailed off and uttered a barely audible sob. 

Kunzite's expression softened, the younger man managed to look incredibly cute when pouting he thought to himself. Perhaps it would not hurt for Zoisite to accompany him for a while? 

"Very well" Kunzite also knew how temperamental Beryl could be. She would possibly kill Zoisite for disobeying an order, even if it was indirectly and Kunzite would hate to see such beauty wasted. 

"Thank you Kunzite-sama" Zoisite smiled gratefully and Kunzite knew he had made the right choice. 

******

Seven hours… _seven hours! _Zoisite sighed impatiently whilst trying to at least feign some interest in what Kunzite was saying. They had visited one regiment after another and each time Kunzite had explained battle histories, strategies and all manner of boring pieces of information that could have been quoted from a textbook. Still he had a lovely voice, Zoisite thought idly, a little deep but mixed in was a soft overtone that soothed even his savage temper. He sighed again, his feet also hurt. _At this rate I am going to be too exhausted to try anything _he thought in annoyance and there might not even be another opportunity like this. Then, at last, Kunzite announced that they had finished. As it was always dark in the Dark Kingdom, Zoisite had no way of telling what time it was except that it was late. The Ice King was staring expectantly at him now, waiting for him to make his leave after dismissal. 

Zoisite quickly ran through his options. He could make his move now before Kunzite became to irked with him to respond. The only problem with this was that, as Nephrite had warned, Kunzite might not take to his advances out where all could see them. Zoisite sighed for a third time. As Nephrite had said, he would have to get inside Kunzite's manse. 

"Kunzite-sama?" he asked, as the older man turned away, seemingly fed up with waiting for Zoisite to take his leave. The Ice King paused when he was addressed however, looking over his shoulder, his eyes showing some irritation, "What is it now?"

"I still have some questions Kunzite-sama. May I take another few moments of your time to speak with you some more?"

"Speak to Jadeite or Nephrite" was the definitely irritated response. Kunzite seemed eager to leave. Zoisite sighed a forth time; this was going to be humiliating… 

"Of course Kunzite-sama" he nodded, stepping away from the object of his desires he added, "How silly of me. I should not waste anymore of your time." 

Zoisite, with this statement, focused his magics on opening a portal and then suddenly doubling over, clutching at the stone wall to steady himself. 

"What is it?" Zoisite resisted the urge to smile when he detected very real concern in Kunzite's voice. 

"Dizzy… it is nothing. It will pass… ugh…" he stumbled again, this time taking care to grab hold of Kunzite, throwing his arms around the older king's waist. Kunzite, as Zoisite suspected, did not take kindly to this and the little man felt energies engulf them both and seconds later he found himself in Kunzite's manse, or more accurately, he found himself sprawled across a dark blue sofa. He looked up sheepishly when Kunzite offered him a glass of water from a pitcher sitting on a small table. 

He smiled and took it, taking care to shake slightly as he gulped down the water. 

"You should not show weakness like that in the kingdom" Kunzite said softly, "It will be used against you by others who would wish you harm" he did not add that he had not liked the fact that others could see Zoisite clinging onto him in such a fashion that rumours could start, rumours that Kunzite could do without. 

"I know" Zoisite delicately placed the glass back down on the table and stood, "Forgive me Kunzite-sama."

"You are forgiven… just take care not let it happen again" Kunzite replied. Again the older man turned and abruptly disappeared in a flash of pinkish light, leaving Zoisite to find his own way out of the huge castle like dwelling. 

Zoisite nervously chewed on his lower lip as he concentrated his powers on a tracing spell and focused on where Kunzite had gone. As he thought… Zoisite followed, wondering if this wasn't a little too bold when he reappeared in the bedroom, in front of a half naked Kunzite. Too bad I didn't time my jump for a few seconds later, Zoisite thought ruefully, noting the jacket and cape folded neatly on a chair near the four-poster bed. _Well at least he does not already have someone._

The king looked taken aback as Zoisite stared, marvelling at the beauty of the man before him. He took a wary step forward, so that he was centimetres from Kunzite, and then as if recalling his place, lowered his eyes again. 

"What do you want now?" Kunzite demanded icily. 

It was now or never… 

Zoisite reached upwards, entangling his hands in Kunzite's silky white hair, he pressed a soft kiss to his lips. He did not get the reaction he had hoped for. Kunzite broke the kiss without even responding at all. Zoisite pulled away, a million thoughts racing through his mind as he locked gaze with the white haired king. What had happened? How could Kunzite not want him? He had said Zoisite was beautiful after all. 

"Kunzite-sama?" he spoke hesitantly, breaking the silence that had befallen them. 

The older man chuckled slightly at the wavering in Zoisite's voice. At this the younger man's blood ran cold as the realisation dawned upon him. Kunzite knew! Backing up Zoisite quickly attempted a teleport, his only thoughts at this moment being escape. Of course he was a fool to think that the Ice King would let him go now. Kunzite lunged forwards, seizing his wrists in an unbreakable grip whilst using his free hand to grasp Zoisite's chin, forcing the younger man to be still. 

Zoisite trembled, knowing that he was now at Kunzite's mercy.


	5. Chapter Five

Written by Shari

Beta Read by SailorTerra1

Chapter five:

For what seemed like an age Kunzite held him, grey eyes burning with, what the little man assumed was, pent up fury. He had given up trying to free himself. How could he when Kunzite was physically stronger than he was? 

"You have plenty of spirit little one" when Kunzite spoke, he did not sound angry, his voice was steady as though he was simply commenting on the weather. Still Zoisite could feel the anger radiating from the man; it shook even his firm grasp on his chin. Zoisite winced as this grip tightened yet he dared not resist knowing it would make whatever fate Kunzite had in mind all the more painful. "You are also a fool. Did you think that such a beauty as yourself would go unnoticed by me? Did you think that I would not look into your past a little closer? I know exactly how you obtained your present rank in our kingdom." 

Zoisite shuddered, this time in shame, when he saw the disgust in Kunzite's eyes. The man thought him to be repulsive, a whore… Zoisite lowered his gaze, for the first time he also felt embarrassed when thinking of the acts he had committed and what he had planned for the first king. He could still feel Kunzite's gaze upon him and Zoisite struggled, not out of fear but the desire to arch away from this contact knowing what Kunzite thought of him. To his surprise, Kunzite released him, throwing him back against the door. As he dropped to his knees, Zoisite suddenly became aware of a pressure above him. He gasped as the air around him tightened; forcing him to fight for each breath he took. Clutching at his chest, he dared raise his head slightly and saw Kunzite standing over him, a barrier of sorts dividing the few inches separating them. Zoisite struggled to stand but each time he moved the pressure increased tenfold. He slumped back down, taking in short ragged gasps as his eyes met Kunzite's smug expression, searching for an answer. 

"That dome will hold you until I can decide what to do with you" an off-handed explanation was the only one offered. "I wouldn't try to fight it if I were you. Your resistance makes it stronger, thus it steals more of your energy. I would hate to see such beauty wither and die before my eyes." 

Zoisite's reaction to this was to conjure an ice crystal and hurl it at the dome. Instantly it crackled into life absorbing the weapon. Then the backlash set in, the little man whimpered, gritting his teeth and resolving not to allow any further sounds of pain to pass his lips. Zoisite did not want to die, but he could not allow Kunzite to think that he gave up that easily. The Ice King took a step back, his arms folded across his chest as he observed another attempt to break free, and this time in the form of Sakura petals. The dome absorbed them, as well. 

Kunzite chuckled at his efforts and this infuriated the little man more. 

"You bastard! I'll kill you," Zoisite gasped, as this time he hurled a fireball at his dark prison. 

"You are in no position to make such threats" Kunzite replied coolly, "Now if you excuse me I think I shall get some rest. It has been a long day for both of us."

"You're just going to leave me in here?"

"Of course" was the amused retort. "I told you before. I have not yet decided what I am going to do with you."

Again stunning green eyes met his "Oh I can think of lots of things you might _enjoy_ doing to me" Zoisite purred, moving as close to the parameter of the barrier as he could get without causing himself more suffering. "Why don't you let me out and I will show you exactly how enjoyable I am."

"Why would I want used goods?" 

Zoisite recoiled as if Kunzite had struck him and the older man wondered if he had gone too far. The beauty looked mortified at his words. Zoisite's lower lip trembled and Kunzite thought for a moment that he was going to cry. Instead, he set his lower lip into a pout and shrugged his slender shoulders "Well that's your loss" his voice sounded strained and this was no effect of the spell. Kunzite broke his gaze and moved from the dome, only pausing to take the rest of his uniform off and climbed into his bed, as if he were not worrying about the little one's presence in the slightest. Keeping the dome going all night would severely tax his strength, Kunzite realised in dismay, but it was better than having the little one running loose in his manse. Kunzite also realised, as he drifted off to sleep, that he would pay for that cutting remark of earlier. Indeed he did not mean to be so rough with Zoisite when in actual fact he found the little one utterly irresistible, especially when pouting and it took incredible will power not to remain oblivious to Zoisite's true intentions and allow the beauty to seduce him. Of course, Kunzite's pride would not allow that. He would not let it seem as though his urges ruled him, as were so many others of the Dark Kingdom, including Beryl herself. Rolling over, Kunzite opened his eyes a fraction and saw that the little one had given up trying to escape his prison and lay curled in a ball, attempting to get some rest. Kunzite smiled and without consciously willing it, he relaxed the spell enough for Zoisite to get comfortable. He suddenly knew exactly what he would do with this pretty, little man. 

*****

For Zoisite, this was the most humiliating night of his entire life. He had not only failed his mission to seduce Kunzite but was also held captive and was forced to listen to the older man's snores until late morning. He cursed the white haired man and wished that the night had run as planned. As it was he was in more or less constant pain from the energy dome and his back was sore from sleeping on the floor. In addition, faint bruises were appearing around his wrists where Kunzite had grabbed him and his chin too ached. This was beyond humiliating! Snarling Zoisite hurled an ice crystal in the direction of the sleeping man and, of course, the dome stopped it from hitting its intended target. Still his furious curses caused Kunzite to stir. Rolling onto his back, his eyes slowly opened to stare at the smaller man, confusion flickering in the blue-grey orbs before realisation and memories of the night before came back. Slowly he stood, pausing only to make the bed and collect his uniform before disappearing into the adjourning room. Seconds later Zoisite heard the hiss of the shower. Zoisite sat uttering more curses, forced to wait, jealously wishing for a hot shower himself, until Kunzite had finished and had decided to pay some attention to his captive. 

Zoisite felt the dome dissolve at Kunzite's word and he immediately lunged at the older man, intent on making him pay for the night's humiliations. The little man gave a small cry as his legs gave way beneath him as the pressure lifted and all he could do was manage to fall at Kunzite's feet. The Ice King laughed scornfully at this while Zoisite curled up into a ball again, struggling to blink back tears of frustration. 

He shivered when he felt Kunzite kneeling beside him, cupping Zoisite's chin in his hand once more. Zoisite winced as the gloved hand touched his sore flesh and he was sure he saw dismay in the older man's eyes when he realised that he had caused this pain. 

"Have you learned your lesson?" Kunzite asked softly, as if talking to a lover. 

Zoisite snarled and tried to bite his hand. Kunzite frowned and released his chin, pushing him back slightly. 

"If not then perhaps another day in my dome will give you time to consider the consequences of your actions." 

Furiously Zoisite shook his head and forced his voice to sound meek and submissive when he said "No Kunzite-sama. I have learned my lesson. I apologise for my conduct of last night and this morning." He said all of this through gritted teeth and Zoisite was sure that Kunzite knew that he was not in the least sorry. 

The Ice King stood "Then you may go."

"Go?" Zoisite echoed, appalled that he sounded almost disappointed at the prompt dismissal. "Do you not want to punish me?"

"As you said you have learned your lesson and I take no pleasure from torture and killing you would not prove to be a wise move" Kunzite replied, "Now get out of here before I change my mind" he added in a dangerously low tenor. 

Zoisite nodded, once again meekly offering his thanks and fled the manse without a moments more hesitation. Once away from it however, all of Zoisite's bitter and incensed thoughts surfaced. 

__

How dare Kunzite treat him like that? Gods he hurt almost as much as he did after a night of supposed passion with one higher-ranking officer or another. Yet it wasnot just a physical pain. He hurt inside too. Kunzite's sharp words kept cycling themselves repeatedly in his mind. It was all true… he was a whore. He sold his body for a higher position in the kingdom on more than a couple of occasions and up until last night would have not hesitated to do so again. Kunzite actually made him feel shame, embarrassment and perhaps even regret… 

__

Damn that bastard. He was going to pay for this!

It did not help that Zoisite found Kunzite attractive. The man was gorgeous. Zoisite sighed softly, a little part of him wishing that Kunzite had taken his revenge to a physical extent. He slipped into a mindless daydream, featuring a certain white haired king, and he almost did not feel the grip on his arm until someone pulled him roughly around a corner and slammed him into a wall. 

"Where the hell have you been?" Nephrite demanded, his face inches from Zoisite's, pinning the little man in place. 

Zoisite squirmed angrily, both from this brutal treatment but the tone of the second king's voice. Still, he realised that he could not let on to Nephrite that the night had been a complete failure; he had his pride after all. 

"Where do you think?" he replied coyly "Entertaining the Ice King of course."

Nephrite looked taken aback "But it's almost noon?"

Zoisite shrugged, managing to free his shoulders "What can I say? He _is_ demanding."

"So it went according to plan?" Nephrite asked, almost in disbelief. 

"I stayed with him all night," Zoisite confirmed and in any case, this was true… to a certain extent. 

"Does he want to see you again?"

Zoisite again shrugged his shoulders. 

Nephrite sighed, "Did you make him want to see him again?"

Zoisite smiled wickedly "Well _I_ thought I was good."

The auburn haired man realised that he was not going to get any details from Zoisite and decided to take his leave. "Just make sure you report to me tomorrow. Then we can discuss the next stage of the plan."

Zoisite nodded, just relieved that Nephrite was leaving. 

After his exit, Zoisite teleported back to his room, intent on getting some rest. He quickly pulled off his blue jacket and tossed it carelessly to the floor. Whilst a few weeks ago he had been pleased to receive the plain blue jacket and trousers that indicated his present rank, he was starting to aspire wearing a uniform similar to the ones the three kings wore. _Now that would be an achievement _Zoisite thought bitterly. Kicking off his boots, he sat down on the bed, lost in his own thoughts once more. Until the door opened that was. 

Jadeite did not wait for an invitation and nor did he heed Zoisite's angry complaints at coming in uninvited. The blonde stood at the edge of the bed and, like Nephrite, requested information about what had taken place the night before. Zoisite replied that everything had gone according to plan but unfortunately, Jadeite was a little more observant than Nephrite. 

"What happened to your face? And your wrists?" he asked softly when he saw the purple bruising marring the pale skin. 

"Nothing" Zoisite snapped, "I was just about to invoke a healing spell," he added as an afterthought. He never could stand the thought of looking less than perfect. 

"Did he do that to you?" 

Zoisite looked up sharply and shook his head. 

"Did he?" Jadeite's voice rose a couple of octaves "Zoisite, what really happened?"

"I told you."

"No you didn't" Jadeite was directly in front of him now. Zoisite sighed, he hated to back down but he was tired, sore, humiliated and all he wanted to do was sleep. 

"Last night was a complete failure" he confided to the blonde, "Kunzite saw right through me and did this as punishment." He left out the small detail of the dome. Zoisite did _not_ want Jadeite to know just how helpless he had been. 

"You were lucky to get away so lightly" Jadeite replied and then "But you have only just come back? Did he…?"

Zoisite shook his head "Apparently I disgust him."

"Then where…?"

"I wanted to be by myself."

Jadeite nodded "Did you tell Kunzite of our plan?"

"No" Zoisite sneered, "Your little secret is safe with me… for now."

Jadeite seemed to sigh with relief before adding, "You don't have to train today. Heal those bruises and then rest."

"How very gracious of you" Zoisite hissed acidly. 

Jadeite shook his head, wondering why he bothered at all, and promptly left the room. He slammed the door behind him, leaving Zoisite alone. 

The young man did the healing spell as instructed and then curled up into a ball in the middle of the bed, attempting to get some sleep. Then the faint sound of Beryl's summons reached his ears. 


	6. Chapter Six

Written by: Shari

Beta read: SailorTerra1

Chapter Six:

Jadeite couldn't help but wonder what Beryl's game was. She had assembled before her, himself, Nephrite, Kunzite and Zoisite and looked very pleased with herself. Beryl was almost smiling, or indeed as near a smile as she could manage with her pointed fangs and furious flame red eyes. In fact the queen of the darkness looked even scarier when she acted in this way, Jadeite decided. He cast a wary look at Zoisite, the little man had been somewhat chastened since his encounter with Kunzite and kept his gaze fixed on his boots and stood as far away from Kunzite as possible. Jadeite stood between the two, wondering exactly what had taken place. Kunzite seemed as impassive as ever, staring straight ahead at a point just above Beryl's head. Not even the first of the kings would dare to look her in the eyes it would seem. Nephrite, too, was staring ahead, occasionally shooting a questioning glance in Jadeite's direction but for the majority of the silence he did not make eye contact. Then finally Beryl spoke. 

"Zoisite" she barked, causing the man to jump slightly "I am impressed with how your training has proceeded. I have been told that you are very gifted in the magical department, showing great potential to use both fire and ice elements in battle. You have also proved how quickly you can learn and under Jadeite's tutelage, I have been advised that your talents would go to waste."

Jadeite did look up at this and even Zoisite raised his head. He was being relieved of his duties where the little man was concerned? He tried hard to conceal the pleased smile that formed across his lips. The question was just whom had advised the queen of this?

"So, as of immediately Jadeite will cease being your instructor and you shall have no further contact unless necessary. I am also hereby promoting you to the position of forth king of the Dark Kingdom. You will all be known as the Shitennou, the four heavenly kings of the Dark Kingdom."

This caused a gasp to escape Zoisite's lips. He instantly dropped to his knees, humbly thanking the Queen whilst Jadeite and Nephrite struggled to hide their own feelings of resentment at this latest turn of events. 

"However," Beryl added, "You still have a lot to learn. Becoming a king is not easy. You will need to work hard to hold your position. From today Kunzite will be your instructor. You will report to him directly and will follow his every command. Failure to do this will lead to instant demotion. Do you understand?"

"Yes Queen Beryl-sama, thank you" Zoisite barely managed to choke out. He was as shocked as the other kings. Still Kunzite hid it well, Jadeite thought. 

"Good. You may leave" Beryl smiled, "Do not disappoint me."

******

Zoisite worked in silence, quickly gathering what little possessions he had and trying to ignore the hushed whispers coming from the adjourning room. Kunzite had instructed that he come to live in his manse rather than return to his own small quarters on the other side of the kingdom. Zoisite saw sense in this but a part of him was terrified at sharing quarters with the Ice King and even spending more time in his company after the events of last night. Still, his promotion had been unprecedented and Zoisite could only assume that he achieved it on his own merit rather than by his usual tactics. He hurriedly stuffed his clothes, some hair-bands and other essential items into a bag when he heard footsteps outside the bedroom door. 

"What the fuck have you done, you lying little rat?" Nephrite demanded, storming into the room seconds ahead of Jadeite. 

"Done?" Zoisite tried to conceal his own feelings of confusion and some fear as he answered the second king "I have no idea what you are talking about?"

"Jadeite informed me of your little failure that you neglected to mention to me" Nephrite growled angrily "And then what happens? We are summoned before 'her majesty' and are told of your huge promotion. You have scaled the ranks far quicker than anyone else in the kingdom! It takes years to become a king! What the fuck did you say to Kunzite?"

"Nothing" Zoisite shrugged, "Perhaps Beryl merely saw my potential."

"Or perhaps you offered your _services_ to obtain this?"

Zoisite's stomach churned at the mere thought of this; indeed he thought he was going to be sick at the mere suggestion… "Let me assure you that Beryl is most definitely not my type" he managed to choke out, "Now if you excuse me I have to be somewhere."

"Not so fast!" Nephrite snarled, blocking the door with his body and grabbing hold of Zoisite, shaking him roughly.

"Nephrite leave it" Jadeite rounded on the older man "Beating him won't accomplish anything. Just accept that the plan has failed."

Nephrite smirked "That is where you are wrong. This is the perfect chance. Now it will take time but the end result will be well worth it…"

Zoisite only half-heartedly listened to Nephrite's plan. That bastard deserved it didn't he? Zoisite felt anger bubbling up inside him again as he recalled that miserable night on the floor. No one had dared treat him like that without some fear of retribution. Kunzite would pay for what happened last night; Zoisite would make sure of that. 

*******

The Ice King awaited Zoisite's arrival with mixed emotions, wondering what could expect from the fiery little Sakura. Of course it had been Kunzite who had gone to Queen Beryl once Zoisite had left his quarters that morning and advised her that the little one was a suitable candidate for the title of forth king of the Dark Kingdom. Kunzite's reasons for doing so were simple. There was an old Earth phrase that sprung to mind 'keep your friends close and your enemies closer'. Still Kunzite did truly hate the notion that Zoisite might become his enemy. True the little one had attempted to seduce him as a means to obtain the rank that Kunzite had earned him after ten minutes in conversation with the Queen. As he was the first of the king's it meant that Kunzite had a sway with the Queen that no other being in the Dark Kingdom could ever have and Beryl was most interested to hear just how advanced Zoisite's magical capabilities were. With the _right_ training he could become powerful, Kunzite had advised and added that he felt that Jadeite was the wrong person to be training the forth king. Beryl immediately agreed that Zoisite should be handed over to her first king not ever guessing a more personal reasoning behind Kunzite's explanation. The other reason being that Kunzite still wanted the little one. Of course if he had made his move this morning Zoisite would have responded simply because he hoped to earn a better rank. Now he had achieved this Kunzite decided that he would like to get to know the beautiful man better in the hopes that perhaps Zoisite would give himself to Kunzite willingly and not because his ambitions ruled his actions. Why? Kunzite did not believe that he was in love with the wilful Sakura. Far from it… his pride simply would not allow him to have it any other way… or so he kept telling himself. 

So lost in his thoughts, Kunzite was not at first aware of the angry knocking on the door of his manse. Starting when he realised that the little one had probably been standing there for ages and was by now almost certainly furiously mad, Kunzite opened the door with a mere thought and teleported downstairs to greet his houseguest. 

The little one was not as angry as Kunzite had hoped (Zoisite still had no idea how cute he looked when pouting) and stomped into the manse on Kunzite's command. Kunzite noted, with approval, that he had healed his bruising. As icy as ever he snapped "This way" at Zoisite before climbing the stairs, his unwilling student trailing behind him. 

He led the way down the seemingly endless corridor in complete silence and Zoisite too, it would seem, did not have anything to say to his new tutor. Finally Kunzite paused outside a room and pushed open the door. 

"You may find this room a little bare," he said, as Zoisite stalked into the room. The little man dumped his bag on the floor and whirled round to face his mentor. 

"Bare? _Bare_? There is nothing in here!" was the livid response. 

"Now that is not entirely true," Kunzite replied smoothly gesturing to the lone single bed in front of them. 

Zoisite pouted and then his scowl broke into a smile as if something had just occurred to him "Why don't I stay with you for tonight? Consider it as my way of making up for yesterday."

Kunzite forced a frown upon his face and said sternly "Don't you have any self respect? A king of the Dark Kingdom does not commit such shameful acts and nor does a king of the Dark Kingdom suggest such things to his betters."

Zoisite gasped slightly before sniping back "What makes you assume that you are my better?"

Kunzite's eyes narrowed at this and he took a step closer to the little man, barely suppressing a smug smile when the newly appointed king backed away, stumbling into the bed he whispered, "Forgive me, Kunzite-sama. I was out of line."

Now the Ice King was confused. Did Zoisite apologise simply because he was afraid? Staring hard at the young man Kunzite was not sure. Zoisite had his gaze fixed on the ground, kicking at the bedpost with a boot, hands tugging nervously at the sleeves of his uniform. Uniform… that reminded him. 

Kunzite teleported to his chambers and back before Zoisite even realised that he had gone. With a flourish he handed the neatly folded grey uniform to the boy. 

"Beryl was adamant that I present you with this. It is your new uniform that shows your new rank," he added as an afterthought when Zoisite shot him a confused glance. 

Zoisite stared thoughtfully at the new uniform as Kunzite continued "Get changed into it and I shall meet you in my study in five minutes. I would advise you not to be late" and with that he teleported down to the aforementioned study and selected a couple of dusty volumes from the array of shelves that aligned the walls. Setting them down at a small desk, Kunzite began to leaf through the top one whilst he awaited the arrival of the pretty little man. 


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

Written by Shari

Beta read by SailorTerra

It took Zoisite a little longer than five minutes to adorn the attire Kunzite had given him. He was still buttoning up the grey jacket with green piping when he realised that his five minutes were up. He couldn't help it! Zoisite pouted to himself as he hurriedly pulled on the grey trousers and boots. He wanted to look his best in his new uniform! Zoisite wished he had a mirror in this dank, dark little room. He wanted to check that he looked nothing short of perfect before joining Kunzite in the study.

Sighing, and deciding that if he alienated his teacher further then the plan would not succeed, Zoisite pulled his hair back into its usual messy ponytail and left the room. Here he encountered another problem. He had no idea where the study was. Cursing his new teacher under his breath, Zoisite stomped down the hall in search of the study.

Half an hour later he finally found the right room, pushing open an oak door and entering. The study was small; books were crammed onto shelving that went all around the room. There was a small desk in one corner and a fire flickering in a hearth. Kunzite sat at this desk, looking up from the book he was reading when Zoisite entered.

"You are late" came the expected greeting.

"You neglected to tell me where the study was," Zoisite pouted.

Kunzite grinned, "So I did. Well now you know" he stood, crossing the small space that separated the two men.

"Here" he shoved a dusty volume into Zoisite's hands.

"What is this?" he asked suspiciously.

"That is the complete history of the Moon Kingdom. I would advise you start reading it straight away."

"Why? What for?"

"If you are going to be commanding troops when we launch our attack against the Moon you will need to know the background history too." Kunzite also handed him a rolled up map "A map of the kingdom. I suggest you learn at least ten different routes to the palace to start with."

Zoisite was shocked to say the least "Why bother? We know we will win anyway. What about weaponry? Using my magics?"

"Perhaps I should first teach you to obey orders" Kunzite said, his eyes narrowing at the protests that came from his fiery student "You will study this very carefully as I shall test your knowledge of chapters one and two this afternoon."

"Fine" Zoisite snarled, "But I still think this is a waste of time." With that he stalked out of the room, slamming the study door behind him.

Kunzite sighed; he was beginning to get a headache. Perhaps it had been unwise of him to allow Beryl to place Zoisite under his instruction. He knew deep down these misgivings were just brought about by Zoisite's furious temper. The little man was amusing when he sulked. Kunzite smiled to himself and sat back down at his desk. This could prove very interesting.

An hour later, Kunzite finally gave up studying. This was mostly due to the fact his mind kept wandering to a certain younger king elsewhere in the manse. Slamming the dusty volume closed Kunzite decided to see how his student was doing. He teleported into Zoisite's bedroom and was rather nonplussed to find the Sakura curled up on his bed asleep; the textbook lay open by his head. Kunzite was angry. Very angry at Zoisite's open disregard for his orders but the man looked so beautiful, curled up on the duvet, silky lashes just brushing his cheeks as he slept. Kunzite stepped closer; taking care not to wake the little one, he seated himself on the bed, near Zoisite's head. Staring at the little one made him want him even more. Still now was not the right time Kunzite knew. Instead he settled for reaching out with a hand, caressing the golden hair of his much-desired student. This touch caused the little one to stir.

Kunzite instantly withdrew his hand, though he did not get up from the bed. Zoisite yawned, opening one eye and looking sleepily up at him. It took him half a second more to realise that he had disobeyed yet another order. Zoisite jumped up, snatched up the textbook and pretended to be absorbed in it.

"I was just resting my eyes Kunzite-sama," he protested when the Ice King attempted to prize the book from his hands. In reaction to this Zoisite clutched the book protectively to his chest, forcing Kunzite to release his grip.

"I should hope so" Kunzite noted with despair that Zoisite was only on the first page. What was he going to do with him? He grinned at this but knew to bide his time. Instead he turned to Zoisite and said disapprovingly:

"I expected more from a student of Jadeite's. So far this morning you have failed to comply with most of my commands and the ones that you do heed I find are met by venom and hatred. Whilst those are good traits for a king to possess I do feel that you carry them a little too far."

Zoisite's eyes narrowed at this "How do you know all I have done is sleep?"

Kunzite shrugged, "I don't" then he smiled, "Why don't you prove me wrong? Can you tell me how to get into the Moon Kingdom's palace from the north side of the satellite? How many men guard the rear entrance? How many miles do the palace grounds stretch for?"

To this Zoisite pouted again and said reproachfully "I haven't got that far yet."

"Very well, Can you tell me the name of the Queen who rules over the Moon Kingdom?"

"The book doesn't even tell you that" Zoisite sulked. Kunzite sighed wearily and leaned over his student to point to the first line containing the said information. This elicited an "Oh" from the little one. Zoisite then giggled, as some strands of Kunzite's white hair brushed his face. Reaching up the little one gingerly felt the soft tresses.

"Was it always this colour?" Zoisite asked, as he marvelled at how silky it was to touch.

"Not always" Kunzite reached up, gently freeing his hair from Zoisite's grip.

"What happened?"

"I had a little accident with a spell" Kunzite admitted, realising that this was the first time he had ever told anyone anything about himself, anything even remotely personal that was.

"What colour did it used to be?"

"Black."

Zoisite frowned, "I can't imagine you with black hair. The white is a lot prettier."

Kunzite was not sure how to take this. It was probably another of Zoisite's attempts to win him over. Still he did see a glimmer of sincerity in those emerald eyes. Clearing his throat, realising just how close the little one was, Kunzite stood. He suggested that Zoisite continue reading for now before taking his leave.

An hour later again Kunzite slammed his textbook shut. It had been resting open at the same page for most of the hour as he contemplated the conversation with Zoisite over and over in his mind. Kunzite was not as naïve to think that Zoisite honestly felt attracted to him. The little man was ambitious, too ambitious, Kunzite thought uncomfortably. Of course Kunzite also knew that he could take advantage of his more than willing student and not give him anything in return save for perhaps a few moments passion but there was something in the back of his mind that did not want this. He wanted those adorable emerald eyes to gaze at him with more than simply contempt or fear. He wanted to hold Zoisite in his arms knowing that the little one was with him because he chose to be and not because of rank or ambitions. Kunzite, had he believed that he were capable of love, would have believed that indeed he had fallen in love with his fiery little student. So he chose to believe that it was his pride talking and that his pride would not allow him to be seduced by the little king.

I wonder what he is doing now. He is being too quiet. Perhaps he is studying?

Kunzite dismissed this last thought. Zoisite had no interest in the Moon Kingdom's history or anything else Kunzite had to teach him. Sighing, Kunzite stood, giving into curiosity he teleported back to Zoisite's room and as he had suspected it was empty, the book lying open at the first page.

"Where could he have gone?" Kunzite frowned; he had half-expected Zoisite to be asleep again. It was then he heard the sound of running water. Following the sound, Kunzite found himself outside his own chambers. Walking swiftly into his bedroom, he discovered that the bathroom door was closed. The nerve of him! Kunzite tried the handle and was surprised when the door swung open. He had not even bothered to lock it! Pulling it shut again, Kunzite sat down on his bed to wait.

Zoisite was bored. He lay on his stomach upon the hard mattress, mindlessly leafing through the textbook, whilst stifling another yawn. This book didn't even have any pictures except for the one of the Queen of the Moon Kingdom on the first page. Zoisite sighed; he was not in the least interested in looking at the Moon Goddess anyway. He felt horrible too. Dust from the room seemed attracted to his new attire and clung to him making the little man feel extremely uncomfortable. He hadn't even had a chance to have a shower today! Pouting at the mess he must look, Zoisite slipped off the bed and padded softly to the bedroom door. He opened it and looked out. There was no sign of the Ice King. He smirked to himself; obviously his little compliment had riled the man more than he would let on. Still at the back of Zoisite's mind there was that nagging feeling that he had meant what he said, and indeed Kunzite did have lovely hair, he mused. Zoisite shook his head, to try and clear any such thoughts and back to the mission at hand. He could spend hours walking around this manse looking for a shower, but, Zoisite grinned devilishly, why bother when he knew where there was one anyway? Smirking to himself, he quickly teleported into Kunzite's chambers.

Once there, Zoisite wasted no time in ditching his clothes on the white rug and entering the shower. After all he did not want Kunzite to catch him here and sure enough, just as he had stepped under the cascade of water being emitted from the steaming showerhead, Zoisite sensed Kunzite's return. He froze when he heard the bathroom door click open. He stood, waiting under the hot water, with baited breath and then he heard the door shut again. To this Zoisite was mildly disappointed, he could have used someone to wash his back. His mouth curved up in a grin at this and quickly he finished his shower, a part of him still in awe and fearful of the first king. Zoisite stepped out of the cubicle, his hair plastering around his face and dripping onto the white tiles. Looking around he saw a towel hanging over a radiator.

After drying himself off, Zoisite realised in dismay that he had left his uniform in the bedroom. He leaned back against the closed door and considered his options. He could simply walk out and get it, but the chances were that Kunzite was waiting to ridicule his actions. Of course in the past this would not have bothered him yet Kunzite's words came to mind.

Don't you have any self-respect?

Pouting, Zoisite realised that Kunzite's opinion of him mattered a great deal, if only for the plan to work. Cursing the man in question, Zoisite wrapped the towel around his waist and, taking a deep breath, opened the door. Kunzite was indeed waiting for him. Zoisite felt a blush creeping across his cheeks as he knelt down to gather up his uniform, feeling Kunzite's eyes on him the entire time. He looked up and their eyes met, and Zoisite's blush deepened as he stared at the older man. The more time he spent with Kunzite, the more he began to respect the first king. Kunzite was the expert in self-control, the very essence of calm and composure. His gaze did not falter once, not even when the little man deliberately let the towel slip as he turned to re-enter the bathroom. Had Kunzite been anyone else, Zoisite knew he would have taken advantage of the unlocked door, but not the Ice King. He is truly worthy of the title Beryl bestowed him, Zoisite thought as he shut the bathroom door, this time taking that extra moment to lock it behind him. That nagging feeling was returning and Zoisite, as he slipped his uniform back on, suddenly was not as keen to continue with Nephrite's plan.


	8. Chapter Eight

Fire and Ice

Written by: Shari

Beta Read: SailorTerra

Chapter Eight:

"Three weeks, _three weeks_" Nephrite paced up and down Jadeite's quarters, mumbling to himself whilst the blond watched impassively from his position on the sofa. "Are you sure you haven't seen him?"

Jadeite shrugged, "Zoisite does not seek out my company or anyone else's unless he wants something. Why would I have seen him?"

Nephrite ceased pacing and decided to instead stand directly in front of the third king. He had sent a Youma to summon Zoisite and the luckless creature had been discovered a day later with an ice crystal imbedded in its heart. Of course Zoisite had never been the most obedient of creatures, or so Jadeite had said, but this was for his own gains as well was it not?

"Look" Jadeite snapped at last, more concerned for his already worn carpeting than a plan that seemed to have backfired somewhat. "If you are really that worried I suggest you pay him a visit. I know for a fact that Kunzite is visiting the Earth realm and will not return until later on this morning."

Nephrite looked more or less furious at this. "Which region?"

"Tokyo, Japan, I believe."

"Tokyo is under _my_ jurisdiction. What does Kunzite want there?"

Jadeite shrugged, "How should I know? I shouldn't even know this much but if there is one good thing to say about Tetis then that is that she knows exactly what is going on in the Kingdom."

Nephrite smirked slightly at this, "Are there any other things that Tetis is good for then?"

He could have sworn Jadeite blushed slightly before sniping back "Of course not! Don't be stupid, she's a Youma."

Nephrite's grin widened, "A very attractive Youma."

Jadeite snorted and stood, "I hope Kunzite kills you" he growled before stalking from the room. Nephrite heard an adjacent door slam behind him. His merriment was now forgotten as he invoked a teleport that would take him directly to Kunzite's manse.

Of course, when Nephrite got there, he was unable to get in on the account of the teleport wards surrounding the castle like dwelling. He shivered, despite himself as he gazed up at the manse. Around him a thunderstorm raged as, perhaps, a warning to those who were not welcome. What if Zoisite was dead? That thought had not crossed Nephrite's mind until now. We'll soon see, he thought grimly as he rapped loudly on the solid oak door. After what seemed an age it was pulled hesitantly open. Kunzite obviously did not have visitors; Nephrite mused to himself and then forced a hardened frown across his face when he was met by the irritated forth king.

"Oh it's you" was his exact words when he saw Nephrite standing there.

"Yes it's me," he growled softly, "And you were supposed to report to me two weeks ago."

Zoisite shrugged and grinned wickedly "I've had things to do. It's hard work being a king of the Dark Kingdom. We can't sit around drinking wine all day."

Nephrite chose not to let the comment rile him and pushed passed the smaller man as he made his way inside, looking warily around for Kunzite and relaxed when Jadeite's information proved to be accurate. Kunzite was nowhere to be found.

"Yes, do come in Nephrite-sama" Zoisite snapped sarcastically as he slammed the door shut with a resounding thud and glared daggers as Nephrite made himself comfortable on the blue sofa and reached for the bottle of wine on the small table. To his delight he discovered a clean glass beside it and quickly helped himself to a drink.

Zoisite slumped down opposite him, folding his arms across his chest in a pout.

"I thought we didn't sit around drinking wine all day?"

"I don't" Zoisite retorted, "That's Kunzite-sama's."

The younger man sniggered when Nephrite abruptly set the glass back down. "How are things with Kunzite?" he enquired as if he were casually asking what day it was.

"Fine" the shields were back up, he noted, seeing Zoisite's suddenly tense stance.

"Fine?"

"Yes fine. Now is there anything else? I have things to do you know."

"Elaborate on fine" Nephrite suggested quietly, the hint of a threat entering his voice, "If I recall correctly we had a deal."

"We did" Zoisite admitted, "But…" a sly smile now spread across his face.

"But what?"

"I am now the forth king of the Dark Kingdom, am I not? A rank that I could never had hoped to achieve alone. The way I see it I owe you nothing. I have obtained the rank I want and therefore I do not need you or Jadeite."

Nephrite, in about the span of a second went through several different emotions. The first being intense fury at what the little man was saying. The double-crossing little rat! Nephrite wanted nothing more than to kill him then and there but then the logical part of his brain took over. This could be used to his advantage. Nephrite struggled to calm his anger and allowed some embarrassment take its place. How could he, the second of the four heavenly kings, let some mere trainee get the better of him? He was a fool to even trust Zoisite. Then the calm was back. Nephrite picked up the glass of wine again and took a defiant sip.

"That may be so" he said coolly "But you are very much mistaken. You do need us, more than ever now."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it. We are all in on this together. I am sure Kunzite would be furious to know that you have aspirations of usurping his rank in the kingdom and even this very minute are plotting against him."

Zoisite turned ashen at this, "Y-you wouldn't dare?"

"I would, and believe me I have no qualms in taking you down with me if you decide to inform Kunzite of our little plan. So the way I see it, you have no choice in the matter."

Nephrite stood and stalked towards the younger king, pressing a small object into his palm "Plant this in his room, tonight, and I will do the rest."

Zoisite nodded and Nephrite, satisfied with this, left. Zoisite, he knew, would not confess anything to Kunzite. If he did he would be dragging himself down with them.

For what seemed an age, Zoisite sat, staring at the object in his hand, fine tremors racking his body. Millions of thoughts rushed through his head. Kunzite-sama… over the growing weeks he had become more and more attached to the older man. Zoisite was aware that he followed him everywhere like an adoring puppy, hanging onto the older man's every word. Hells, he had even made an effort with his studies to try and please his mentor. If the truth were known, Zoisite had fallen in love with Kunzite, despite his best efforts to crush any feelings he had for the man. Emotions were dangerous in the Dark Kingdom. Beryl forbid against such love and yet the more Zoisite told himself that it was wrong, the more he found himself wanting Kunzite. Still, he had dared not attempt to seduce him after his last attempt met with such failure. Kunzite would assume that Zoisite was hell bent of achieving a higher rank and would never act on any advance on Zoisite's behalf. Instead, the younger king had started willing that Kunzite come to him and demand that Zoisite give him what he wanted. This hope was based upon a Youma rumour that Kunzite allowed students to share his bed. A rumour, Zoisite had decided a week ago when it became clear that Kunzite had no interest in him whatsoever. It was nothing but a dumb rumour.

The young king set the object down upon the table, his slightly tear-filled gaze drifting to the bottle of wine beside it. That had been his last ditch attempt, he thought bitterly. He had resolved to wait here for Kunzite's return and suggest that they celebrate a successful mission with a glass of wine. Zoisite had planned to get drunk and hope that Kunzite would take advantage of him, the wine affecting his judgement and lowering the icy façade. Zoisite, in truth, hated to lower himself to that level, but if it meant that Kunzite would love him, even for one night, then it was worth it. As it was Kunzite still saw Zoisite as a little whore. He rubbed his temples with a hand. This still pained him, even now.

Zoisite leaned forward and gently unwrapped the folded cloth that Nephrite had given him. It was made of the finest silk from the Moon Kingdom and depicted a silhouette of Queen Serenity. Wrapped inside it were some plans, all showing the routes that Beryl had mapped out that they take, all were folded up into little squares of paper no bigger than Zoisite's palm. They were handwritten, Nephrite had probably got them copied from the originals but even so there was no way to tell that the second king had been the one behind all of this. Nephrite would not be stupid enough to draw them out himself. This was Nephrite's plan. He wanted to convince Beryl that Kunzite was a traitor. Traitors were put to death. Zoisite shuddered at this. How could he allow that to happen? How could he frame Kunzite-sama? He couldn't… but if he didn't then Nephrite would tell Kunzite what he planned to do, leaving out the small detail of his own involvement. Kunzite would kill him. Zoisite did not want to die. He rose from his chair, and started quickly up the staircase and then down the corridor to Kunzite's bedroom.

The superiority and liquid calm of the first king was present even here, without him having to be here in person, Zoisite thought as he stepped up to the four-poster bed, a hand touching the dark blue sheet, momentarily imagining Kunzite's lips pressed against his own, and then the Ice King pushing him down onto the bed, his hands slipping under Zoisite's uniform… the little man shook his head, biting his lip in dismay. That could never be. Jerking away from the bed, Zoisite came to a stop beside the set of drawers. He pulled the top one open and saw the neatly folded duplicates of the Ice King's uniform. He pulled out a jacket and pressed it to his face, inhaling the familiar and comforting scent of the older man. Still, Zoisite did not know what to do. He loved Kunzite but did he love him enough to die? Shaking his head he felt the silk cloth in his palm once more. He could not do this… he could not… the door banged open, causing him to jump. Zoisite whirled around, pushing the jacket back into the drawer along with the plans and cloth in an attempt to hide it from the grey-clad man standing in the doorway. He slammed the drawer shut and gulped.

"Kunzite-sama? I was not expecting you back so soon."

For Kunzite, the mission to search out possible sources of energy in Tokyo had been a welcome relief and even more so when he learned that he was to go alone, without the presence of the little one. True Zoisite was a lovely view and made a change from the dull and drab castle he called home, but lately Kunzite had noted a change in the little one's attitude. He still sniped at orders he did not like and was still quick to anger yet his attitude towards his mentor had changed. Kunzite became aware that Zoisite was trying his utmost to please him, often following him around and attempting to impress him by reading chapter after chapter of the dusty volume that Kunzite had given him. Also the little one had stopped trying to seduce him. Again, Kunzite was glad of this. He did not like Zoisite selling his body in this way. Such beauty was to be cared for, not flaunted in front of soldiers who cared little for the person behind that beauty. Zoisite was not just a pretty face. He was intelligent, perhaps even more so than Kunzite himself. He was witty, whilst physical confrontations were not really his forte, Zoisite excelled at sneak attacks and his magical capabilities were years ahead of his training. It was that temper that let him down. Ruled by his emotions, Zoisite often acted without thinking of possible consequences and had given him the reputation of a temperamental, pretty-boy.

Yes, Kunzite was glad that he had gone alone to Tokyo. It had given him time to arrange his own thoughts and feelings concerning Zoisite into some kind of order. He wanted the younger man more than anything but had realised that he wanted to take Zoisite on his own terms and not be fooled by Zoisite's seductive efforts. In short, Kunzite wanted the decision to be mutual and made because of some kind of feelings rather than a student-teacher relationship or Zoisite's aspirations of a higher rank.

Now appeared to be this time, he thought to himself as he entered his bedroom and came across the little one clutching one of his jackets to his face.

"Kunzite-sama? I was not expecting you back so soon" was Zoisite's startled response as he quickly shoved the jacket back into the drawer.

"What are you doing in here?" Kunzite demanded softly, noting the slight fear in those beautiful green pools. His question was out of curiosity though he had, long ago, decided that wondering why Zoisite did anything was a mystery and that he should not waste his time thinking about it too much.

"I-I was bored" came the reply, "I thought I would tidy up a little for you."

Kunzite raised an eyebrow at the scarce bedroom and neatly made bed, before taking a step closer.

Zoisite backed up, knocking into the drawers. "Forgive me, Kunzite-sama… I shouldn't have come in here without permission… I…"

Kunzite, in two strides, was before the younger king. He reached up with a gloved hand, caressing the little one's cheek before leaning down and placing a soft kiss on his lips. Zoisite responded for a brief moment and then suddenly pulled away, turning his head to one side.

Kunzite, confused at this reaction, cupped Zoisite's chin in his hand and forced the troubled emerald green eyes to look at him. "What is wrong?"

Zoisite shook his head, shaking his chin free as Kunzite leaned forward again, this time pressing his body against the slender man as he kissed him. This time Zoisite responded eagerly, moaning when Kunzite swept him up in his arms and deposited him on the bed. Looking down at the beauty, Kunzite realised that he had made the right choice.

A/N: Well they finally got together! But for how long… I thought this would be a good place to thank everyone who has reviewed so far and encouraged me to continue with this fic. Special thanks goes to SailorTerra who beta reads this in its first draft form before I post and for the help with the plot in various places. I have a feeling that _Fire and Ice_ is going to continue for longer than I had first thought, but that's got to be a good thing, right? Anyways thanks to everyone and I'm glad that so many people are enjoying reading it as much as I am enjoying writing it.


	9. Chapter Nine

Written by Shari

Beta Read by SailorTerra

Chapter Nine:

When Zoisite woke the next morning, it was not to a horrible rock hard mattress in a small drafty bedroom. He felt a pair of arms clasped loosely around his waist, his head resting against Kunzite's bare chest. He remained still, keeping his eyes closed and savouring this tranquillity, for he knew it would not last. Kunzite-sama would wake and would ignore last night completely. That was how it had always been before. Kunzite had got what he wanted from Zoisite and now Zoisite would be forsaken, until Kunzite felt an urge to take him again.

_Then why does this feel as though it is forever?_

It did, it really did. But hadn't it been the same before? Kunzite was not Zoisite's first lover yet he was Zoisite's first love. His only love, there would only be Kunzite-sama. There was no room for anyone else. At first he had not been sure, even when Kunzite kissed him but as soon as their lips met for the second time, Zoisite knew that Kunzite-sama was the one. Even if Kunzite-sama did not want him after today, Zoisite knew he could never sleep with another man knowing that Kunzite was truly the only man he would ever love. All the others had been rough and afterwards Zoisite was left feeling sore all over and he would sometimes bleed. It had been worth it at the time and now he simply felt disgusted. However, it was ironic that if Zoisite had not performed such acts then he would never have got to meet Kunzite. At this thought he unconsciously snuggled closer to his lover.

To this, the older man stirred slightly.

_Go back to sleep, please fall asleep. Please don't wake up yet. If you wake up now then it is over. Just give me a few seconds more in your arms…_

Kunzite ignored the silent pleadings of the man sharing his bed and continued to wake. Moments later he opened his eyes, his gaze locking with the pair of green eyes looking up at him.

Yet, the arms around his waist did not loosen their grip, nor did the sleepy smile on his face falter when his eyes lost their fatigued look. He opened his mouth to speak but uttered were not the soft commands to get out of his bed, instead:

"Good morning."

Zoisite did not reply at first, he could not reply in words. He rubbed his cheek against the skin beneath him and mumbled an inaudible greeting whilst feigning sleepiness.

Kunzite sighed softly and tightened his grip around Zoisite somewhat even as the younger man finally found his voice and whispered:

"Good morning, Kunzite-sama."

Then, softer still "Shall I leave?"

Kunzite appeared puzzled, "No"

This one word answer made all the difference. Zoisite pulled free from the embrace and climbed atop the older man, leaning down to properly greet him with a lingering kiss.

Things would have progressed further had it not been for the sudden crash downstairs. Zoisite froze, even as Kunzite gently manoeuvred him off of his body and into the space beside him.

"Wait here" was his command as the Ice King stood up from the bed and quickly pulled on his uniform before hurrying out into the hallway and down the stairs. Zoisite pouted at being interrupted and sat up, listening intently to the bits of conversation coming from downstairs.

Kunzite-sama was demanded to know what was going on and then the intruders said something about searching his manse.

_Plant this in his room, tonight, and I will do the rest._

Zoisite gasped in dismay, his heart skipping a beat when he heard footsteps - too many of them to be Kunzite-sama alone - on the stairs.

The little man jumped up, almost getting tangled in the bed sheets and nearly falling to the floor in his desperation to reach the drawer. He did so, pulling on one of Kunzite's jackets, which was far too big for him and nearly went down to his knees, and balled the silken cloth and plans up in his fist just as the Youma entered the room. They smirked knowingly when they saw Zoisite and then roughly pushed him aside, towards the door where Kunzite-sama stood as they continued their search.

Ten minutes later, Zoisite sat upon the bed once more, listening to the terrified apologies offered from the Youma as they left the manse. They had found nothing and Zoisite did not know whether to be glad or not. Indeed he felt sick inside. What had he just done? Nephrite and Jadeite would surely kill him, provided they lived through Beryl's fury when she learned that she had her Youma search Kunzite's quarters for no reason and made her look a fool in front of her court. Gods, why hadn't he just followed the plan?

_Because I love him_

Yes, Zoisite knew this to be true and he hated himself for it because now Kunzite had something to hold over him. Zoisite could never do him harm and, whether Kunzite realised it or not, Zoisite would remain loyal to him alone.

Zoisite stood, his hand tightening around the small bundle as Kunzite re-entered the bedroom. Though he appeared calm, but the set of his jaw and the fire in his eyes told Zoisite otherwise.

"What were they looking for?"

Zoisite flinched away at this question, moving back until he hit the wall. "I-I don't know Kunzite-sama."

"Yes you do" the Ice King stalked towards him with a purposeful like grace, until he was standing directly in front of the little man. "What were they looking for?"

Zoisite shook his head miserably, unable to do/say anything else.

Kunzite's gaze moved lower, and then with a lightening quick movement he reached down and grasped Zoisite's left hand tightly in his own "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing, Kunzite-sama…" Zoisite broke off in pain as his lover prized open his fingers and tore the object from his hand.

Almost a minute passed in silence. Kunzite simply stared at the offending item, seemingly stunned by Zoisite's act of betrayal. Zoisite held his breath, his heart thumping loudly in his chest. Suddenly he was aware of a lump in his throat. He swallowed hard but this did nothing to relieve him of this discomfort. Then Kunzite reacted, hurling the object across the room, it struck the opposite wall and fell onto the floor. Zoisite jumped, startled by this sudden act of aggression.

"Kunzite-sama…" he faltered off again when Kunzite raised a hand. Zoisite closed his eyes, bracing himself for the blow. It never came. Zoisite opened an eye and saw Kunzite's fist poised, barely a centimetre from his face.

"Where did you get it?" he asked, his voice betraying nothing. Zoisite dared raise his eyes to meet that of his lover's, but he could not bring himself to speak and Kunzite was forced to repeat himself.

"I-I…" Zoisite stuttered and broke off, his mouth suddenly dry.

"Who put you up to this?" the Ice King demanded next, lowering his fist and taking to pacing up and down in front of the terrified king. It was funny, Zoisite thought to himself, whilst he was afraid that Kunzite would kill him, he was even more afraid that the man would finish with him. Zoisite knew he could withstand the pain of death, but not the pain of rejection.

"Who put you up to this?" he repeated threateningly.

"Nephrite" Zoisite suddenly saw no reason why he shouldn't take the other king down with him. Strangely enough, he refrained from mentioning Jadeite; after all he needed something to hold over the blonde king's head.

"Nephrite" Kunzite ceased pacing, "Of course. Such a predictable man, I should have seen it coming. He would never be satisfied with being second. I have to say, this differs very much from your usual tactics, or did you perhaps offer him your services anyway?"

Zoisite was appalled and his horror showed clearly on his face, almost outweighing his fear, "Of course not! You are the only one of the three kings I have ever slept with!"

"Not to mention the hundreds of lower officers who have had that privilege" Kunzite shot back acidly.

Tears stung at Zoisite's eyes and he felt as though the older king had struck him. "Do you think I wanted this? Why else would I hide the evidence at the last minute? I had no choice! Nephrite would have killed me, but I did not go through with it anyway! Surely that tells you something?"

"That you are a coward."

"No!" Zoisite screamed, his tears pouring forth and streaming down his cheeks, "I care about you, Kunzite-sama. I didn't know it as first, but I do now. I couldn't carry out Nephrite's orders, no matter what happened! Doesn't that count for something?"

"No. Get out."

"Kunzite-sama!"

"Get out"

Kunzite turned away to indicate that the conversation was over, but Zoisite lingered for a few seconds more, his tearful gaze upon the older man. Then, when it became clear that Kunzite was not going to change his mind, Zoisite silently left the bedroom and hurried down the corridor to his own room.

_Kunzite-sama…_

He had thought that they were forever, now it appeared that they had not even lasted a single day.

* * *

"Alright, I'll be right down!" Jadeite shouted irritably as the incessant knocking on the door of his quarters refused to be silenced by the several pillows that he had buried his head under. Beryl had been feeling generous owing to a small successful energy harvest in a town in England and had decided to allow Jadeite the morning off. These rare acts of generosity were to be savoured and of course Jadeite was not going to miss a chance to sleep in. Still it was passed mid-day so he supposed he should be grateful for the irritating wakeup call. Keeping a scowl fixed firmly on his face, Jadeite pulled on a pair of trousers and stomped downstairs to answer the door. Yanking it open he was very displeased to see Nephrite standing the other side of it. Without waiting for a reply, the older king stormed into the house, pushing the blond roughly aside as he let loose a torrent of insults… all directed at Jadeite's former student.

"What the fuck does he think he is playing at?" Nephrite demanded at length, when he noted that Jadeite was not paying him the slightest bit of attention and had seated himself upon the sofa. "Everything was going so well and then he had to go and ruin it all. I was lucky to escape so lightly. Now Beryl can't stand the sight of me and the Youma are laughing behind my back! What the fuck was he doing?"

Jadeite shrugged, "Why don't you start by telling me what Zoisite is supposed to have done?"

Nephrite scowled but drew a calming breath and said; "It is what he hasn't done. Yesterday I gave him plans of our attack on the Moon Kingdom, all nicely wrapped up in the kingdom's emblem for him to plant in Kunzite's room. This morning I went to Beryl with the news that Kunzite was selling Dark Kingdom's secrets to the leader of the Inner Senshi guarding the Princess. Of course Beryl went crazy and sent a couple of Youma to search Kunzite's quarters from top to bottom and do you know what they found?"

"No, but I can guess."

"Nothing! Not a fucking thing!"

Jadeite couldn't say he wasn't surprised but was deeply concerned by this turn of events. He leaned forward, demanding to know what Beryl did when she learned that Nephrite had lied to her.

"That bitch made me clear out the Youma quarters" Nephrite snarled angrily, not acknowledging that this punishment was a light one when one considered how volatile the Queen could be.

"So Zoisite is loyal to Kunzite?" Jadeite questioned, "That could put both of us in jeopardy."

"And don't I know it" Nephrite snapped, "That lying little rat. I won't allow him to get away with this."

Jadeite shook his head, "The way I see it, we have more to worry about than Zoisite making fools of us. He has become a liability. Even if Kunzite does not know about our part in all of this he will soon."

"So we are in agreement then?"

Jadeite nodded, "We must terminate that liability as soon as possible."


	10. Chapter Ten

Chapter 10:

For Kunzite, the morning passed like any other. He went about his duties as normal but with a slightly icier frontage and considering his usual coldness this went about unnoticed, or rather it would have done had Kunzite not fried a dozen or so Youma for failing to complete the training exercises he had set. Even though Kunzite was the iciest of the four, he was usually good to the lower Youma, treating them not with respect but at least as living creatures and not just targets or things to take out an exceptionally bad day on.

Finally, Kunzite decided to call it a day and retreated to his bedroom, which funnily enough, seemed big and empty without Zoisite around. Zoisite… there it was; that familiar dull ache in his chest, the same ache that had been there all morning. He tried to crush this pain with anger yet even fury did not come easily to the most reserved of the kings, as it was he had retained a mostly calm voice when addressing his student, and Kunzite ended up slumped down upon the bed, staring into a glass of brandy, debating whether to get drunk or not. In the end his rational thinking won out and Kunzite promptly hurled the glass at the opposite wall. It shattered, spilling the dark brown liquid across his carpet. Whilst Kunzite frowned upon the mess it was strange at how satisfying it felt. Perhaps this was why Zoisite always threw things when he got angry… Kunzite mentally flinched thinking of the smaller king and with this came intense anger. He had allowed the little man to make a complete fool of him! Indeed he had been a fool to think that Zoisite cared anything for him other than seeing him as a way to obtain a higher rank! Why hadn't Kunzite seen through this as he had done the first time? Why did he have to be so blind to Zoisite's true intentions? Why did he have to be fond of him even now?

The bottle of brandy followed the glass. As if things weren't bad enough, the lying little rat had, with Nephrite, stolen plans from Beryl's audience chambers and attempted to frame Kunzite in the probable hopes that Beryl would kill him and appoint Zoisite the position of first king. Kunzite felt sick to think that whilst he had been asleep the little man had been planting the said evidence in his room.

Then why did Zoisite relent? What had made him hide the evidence from the Youma at the crucial moment? Kunzite massaged his suddenly throbbing temples. He didn't want to think about this. Zoisite had betrayed him just as Kunzite had suspected that he would. He had known that he would never be able to completely trust the little one and he had to go and fall for him anyway! Kunzite couldn't even bring himself to strike the little man when Metallia knew he wanted to kill him.

_Kunzite! Report to the throne room immediately!_

The white haired king inwardly cursed as Beryl's summons reached his ears. She always called at the most awkward times! Still, Kunzite quickly heeded her calls, knowing better than to ignore his Queen.

* * *

Zoisite hated the small series of rooms that made up his home. They were damp; indeed his bedroom was the only room that did not have a constant dripping of water running down the walls. The bed, if one could call it a bed as such, was simply a pile of cloth and a worn out mattress sitting in one corner of the dank room. There was no light, only a small candle that more often than not went out plunging him into complete darkness. After spending an hour or so alone in his room in Kunzite's mansion, Zoisite had left, deciding that the Ice King would simply not tolerate his presence at the moment. He scowled and again cursed the dank atmosphere, which only added to his foul mood.

Of course Zoisite knew he was lucky to get his own quarters. For most of his life in the Dark Kingdom he had spent his time at various training facilities or sharing his superior officer's quarters. He shivered, pulling a tatty blanket around himself for added warmth. His uniform lay where he left it; a crumpled mass of shredded cloth. He had torn it in a fit of rage not an hour ago. He couldn't bear to look at it knowing how he had achieved that and that he had hurt Kunzite-sama in the process. If only Kunzite had let him explain that he didn't have a choice but couldn't go through with it in the end anyway. He would never hurt Kunzite-sama… he loved him too much. Zoisite sniffed; his eyes already raw from crying and indeed no more tears would fall; he did not have any left. He snuggled further under the blanket, wearing nothing but the jacket belonging to Kunzite. He could still smell the familiar musky scent of his lover on the clothing and it was as if by holding onto it, Zoisite could keep him with him.

Perhaps he should go back there and force Kunzite-sama to listen to him? Kunzite-sama was reasonable wasn't he? If Zoisite were honest then maybe Kunzite would forgive him?

Forgiveness? The Ice King would never forgive anyone, let alone someone who humiliated him so and nearly got him charged with treason.

Zoisite whimpered. Kunzite would not forgive him and he knew what he would do. He would go to Beryl and explain that he did not feel worthy of the elevation that he had been given. Of course Beryl would be furious and would demote, if not kill him but it was the only way to show Kunzite that he was serious. That he did not care for rank or power. Zoisite bit his lip, the mere prospect of this too terrible for him to imagine. Still… now he couldn't imagine a life without Kunzite-sama.

This line of thought was snapped off by a crash in the hallway. Zoisite froze and softly demanded to know who was there. The response was the door crashing open, torn from its hinges it fell to the floor. The little man had hardly any time to react before it was upon him. It struck with lightening speed, knocking him down, snarling as a pair of razor sharp claws swiped at his face. Zoisite rolled aside at the last moment and the hand embedded itself in the floor. He quickly called up an ice dagger, searching around blinding for the Youma, realizing with a chill that in the dark it had the advantage. As it lunged forwards again Zoisite hurled the dagger blindly in the vague direction of the creature and a smirk twisted his mouth as the blade struck home with a sickening thud. The Youma screamed, howling in agony and then a louder thud followed. Zoisite stepped back, wiping the sweat from his brow he attempted to gather the millions of thoughts racing through his mind into some kind of order. Who had sent that Youma? Was it Kunzite-sama? No… that couldn't be… could it, or was it Jadeite and Nephrite? Zoisite stepped over the body, his intension being to confront the two cowards. This proved to be a foolish move.

Zoisite shrieked as it struck, catching him round the face with a clawed hand, digging into the sensitive flesh of his cheek. Zoisite was thrown back by the force of the blow and smashed into the wooden front door. His back hit stone and his vision started to drain. The last thing he saw was the shadow of the Youma looming over him.

* * *

Kunzite had never been one for questioning orders, even if he thought that the commands would place him in terrible danger, he would obey simply because he was not to question the whims and wants of his Queen. Today, however, he had been feeling suicidal and had invoked Beryl's wrath on more than one occasion. The malevolent Queen had decided to move the attack on the Moon Kingdom forward to one year's time. Why? Not because they had already gathered enough energy to fuel Metallia's awakening or even because they had recruited the number of troops sufficient to launch such an attack. No, Beryl's decision was simply blinded by emotions of rage and jealousy. All of which were directed at the Queen of the Moon Kingdom's daughter, Serenity. It was well known that Beryl had a thing for Prince Endymion of Earth. It was also well known that Endymion was truly in love with Serenity. This was why, in a years time, Beryl had decided to crush the Earth and the Moon and claim Endymion was her own. Kunzite supposed he should be thankful that Beryl was going to wait a year to lead them all to their deaths. This led to his own personal problem; Zoisite.

In order to claim victory in a year's time, Beryl had been adamant that Kunzite and Zoisite leave for the Earth Kingdom, at once to do some reconnaissance work. She wanted to know how many troops guarded the palace, which would be the best direction to launch an attack from, what were the kingdom's defence weakened and, most importantly of all, what were the whereabouts of Prince Endymion. Kunzite thought his Queen to be foolish and had voiced his protests. Beryl had hated this and Kunzite was forced to back down. He knew that the real reason Beryl was sending him to the Earth was to spy on Endymion and he did not like it one bit.

Of course now he would have to try to make amends with Zoisite first, despite the fact that Zoisite was the one who betrayed him! Kunzite scowled angrily at this and the fact that he hated this part of the kingdom. Youma roamed everywhere and the sewage from the better part of the realm was dumped here, Kunzite could hear his boots squelching in the filth, the smell invaded his nostrils and he again wondered how Zoisite could live in this and decided that perhaps obtaining a better rank was spurred on by the promise of living somewhere half decent. Just as Kunzite's want to turn back won out, a piercing shriek sliced through the silent atmosphere. Youma scattered in alarm but Kunzite broke into an almost run, his heart skipping a beat when he recognized that scream.

He halted in front of a shabby looking dwelling tucked away from most of the others when it became clear that the shrieks were coming from inside. Kunzite debated going inside but it turned out that he did not have too. The wooden door groaned and gave way, wood splintering and falling all around him. Kunzite took a step back, partly in shock as he let fly an energy sword. It struck, piercing the heart of the colourful Youma. It was dead before it hit the ground.

For what seemed an age Kunzite stared down at the unconscious little one, two thoughts racing through his mind. The first was to help him and this disturbed Kunzite somewhat. Why should he help Zoisite after all the little one had done to him? The other was an urge to finish him off whilst he lay helpless. The first won out and Kunzite found himself kneeling beside the little one, a hand brushing little splinters of wood from his delicate face and silently despaired at the ugly gash marring the pale skin. Making another decision, Kunzite placed his palm atop Zoisite's cheek and willed a small amount of his magic to flow from his hand and into the wound. After a few seconds, he removed his palm, the wound was healed and even the blood had gone. This magical aid brought Zoisite round. His eyes opened slowly, as he glanced around the filthy caverns of the kingdom and finally came to rest on Kunzite.

"Kunzite-sama?" he croaked, a shaking hand pressed against his cheek, "My face?"

"Get up" Kunzite commanded, and when Zoisite tried and failed, the older man wrapped an arm around him and let a teleport take hold of them both, transporting them to his quarters. As they reappeared, Kunzite felt Zoisite slump against him, unconscious as the trials of the day took their toll. All the while berating his actions, Kunzite found himself lifting the little one off of the floor and into his arms, startled at the reasoning behind his actions and not liking it one bit.

* * *

Hidden in the shadows, a figure watched as the Ice King had teleported the smaller man away.

"Damn you, Kunzite" Jadeite growled softly before disappearing in a flash of yellow light, "Damn you."


	11. Chapter Eleven

Fire and Ice

Written by: Shari

Beta read by: SailorTerra

Chapter Eleven:

Kunzite stared at Zoisite; he had been watching the little one sleep for the best part of an hour whilst he tried to assemble his own thoughts and feelings into some kind of order. Why had he saved Zoisite from the Youma, which had quite obviously been sent by Nephrite to kill him? If anything Nephrite was doing Kunzite a favour! He growled softly to himself when thinking of the second king. Kunzite could not allow Nephrite to get away with his aspirations of stealing his rank. In fact, Kunzite still had to choose a suitable punishment for the little man asleep in his bed, though Kunzite knew deep down that Zoisite had more than learnt his lesson, but the Ice King knew that he could not appear to lose face in front of his inferior kings.

As he processed this thought, Zoisite started to stir. He mumbled something incoherent and opened his eyes. He frowned slightly when he realised where he was and even more so when he noted how close to him his teacher was. Kunzite stood up, moving from his position knelt down beside Zoisite and sent out a whisper of magics, just as Zoisite opened his mouth to speak.

A strangled gasp was all that escaped Zoisite's lips as the spell took hold, robbing the youngest king of his voice. His left hand flew to his throat, though his mouth kept moving silently as a look of horror and some fear started to mist over in his emerald green eyes.

As Zoisite moved, so did Kunzite. The little king bolted off of the bed, or would have done had Kunzite not predicted this and sent out a second wave of power, this time to propel the younger man backwards. Zoisite lay stunned as Kunzite walked back round to the bed and placed a hand upon his forehead in a seemingly gentle touch. The little one's eyes slid closed as the sleep spell took hold and Kunzite, satisfied that Zoisite would not wake until the spell was removed, left the room to try and assemble his own thoughts into some sort of order.

* * *

Zoisite drifted in and out of consciousness. Misted images of Kunzite's bedroom filled his mind in the brief moments that he was awake; he would even imagine that Kunzite-sama was at his bedside taking care of him. Illusions, nothing but illusions brought about by his pain he told himself and indeed it hurt. It was an agonising sharp pain in his head that would bring him round for a few seconds. Long enough for him to whimper in agony and then he was gone again, back into the realm of nothing that he was becoming accustomed too.

He loathed this nothing… it filled him with dread. Zoisite was afraid… he didn't want to die though he knew, with a bitter realisation, that before the Youma had struck he _had_ wanted to die.

It was this nothing that forced him to open his eyes and this time when he slid towards unconsciousness again, Zoisite gripped the mattress beneath his fingertips and willed it away. He laid still, waiting and simply becoming used to the waves of pain that buffeted him and the effort that staying conscious took. Zoisite was amazed that he was alive. What had saved him from the Youma attack? He found his answer knelt down beside the double bed that he was all too familiar with.

The sight of Kunzite was enough to bring back some half faded memories. Kunzite had healed the gash on his cheek? Kunzite had rescued him from the Youma? It did not make sense… it could not…

_"Healing is an abstract way of relieving suffering. Whereas our magics are able to manipulate the physical world, we can do nothing other than speed up the healing process. We cannot take away pain and nor can we heal wounds inflicted upon us from other magical sources. Mortals look upon healing as a great gift, where we see it as a curse. There is no quick way to relieve yourself or others of pain. It, like everything else, takes time."_

Jadeite did not know much in the art of healing, nor did Nephrite and Zoisite was surprised that Kunzite had taken it upon himself to learn. The blonde did not teach Zoisite any of these spells. Again the little king felt the smooth expanse of skin where his wound had been. Kunzite's power was far greater than Jadeite's or Nephrite's. Still, even the Ice King could not take away the pain. As much as it hurt, Zoisite knew it was nothing compared to the mental ache he was feeling in his heart.

Still he had to try and make amends, and he opened his mouth to speak, his voice cutting out before he had even begun. Zoisite felt a short, sharp pain in his throat. He gagged and a hand flew there, even as the pain subsided as quickly as it had come. Yet Zoisite continued to mutely plead with his lover, not that Kunzite cared to heed the silent pleas and dully, Zoisite realised that Kunzite intended to punish him for his actions.

Did he care? Zoisite did not even know anymore, even though his body attempted to react to this chilling knowledge and seek escape. Kunzite reacted faster, pressing palm to his aching brow. Zoisite suddenly felt a wave of fatigue overtake him as the sleep spell wrapped itself around his mind. He could not hope to fight Kunzite-sama, and indeed he did not wish too. All he could do now was succumb to the pull of the spell and wait for the end…

* * *

An hour later, Kunzite found himself back in his bedroom. The sleep spell worked better than he had dared to hope and Zoisite slept on.

Staring at him, Kunzite found that the hour alone had done some good. His feelings for Zoisite were still there but he had managed to keep them somewhat muted even when faced with the little one's beauty. The Ice King had also come to the uneasy conclusion that he could not kill Nephrite. Beryl would not allow it and Kunzite knew that if he did fight the auburn haired man he would end up killing him. No, there were more ways to skin a cat and Kunzite had realised that the answer had been staring him in the face for too long now.

"Wake up" he commanded softly to the sleeping king and Zoisite's body reacted to the command. Slowly the little one opened his eyes. He stared at Kunzite, his hands gripping the sheet beneath him. He didn't speak, perhaps he was afraid too. Kunzite did not know. They simply stared at each other until Kunzite broke the silence by saying:

"How are you feeling?"

This stunned the little man. His eyes widened in the shock that Kunzite could still possible care about him and he half mumbled a reply. Kunzite smiled, the gentleness in this expression belying his true feelings as he conjured a perfect flower and held it out to Zoisite. Zoisite took it, inhaling the sweet smell of the rose and then dared raise his eyes to look Kunzite in the face fully.

As he did so, Kunzite leaned forward and pulled the younger man into his arms. Zoisite melted against him, wrapping his arms around Kunzite's back. Yes… Kunzite could feel the need, the fear and the desire burning in the young man's soul. Allowing none of his own wants to filter through, Kunzite kissed him. Zoisite was momentarily stunned by the icy embrace but returned the kiss with the passion that Kunzite would not allow himself to show.

"I don't understand" Zoisite murmured against Kunzite's chest, "You should hate me."

His reply was enough to force Zoisite to pull away.

"I do."

"Then why?" Zoisite demanded, his eyes flashing in anger as well as pain.

Kunzite shook his head, a small smile playing on his lips. "As I said to you once before, I do not take pleasure from torture and killing you, even now, would prove to be a waste of talent and beauty."

"K-Kunzito-sama?" he whispered, shocked disbelief clearly showing at this response. Kunzite did want to exact revenge, but what point would there be in taking his revenge to someone who was willing to accept the pain? Though, he was sure that even if he did, Zoisite would still be as faithful and as loyal as ever. No, he needed the little one alive. He was simply more use to Kunzite whilst he was living and breathing.

It was clear that his fellow king sought to obtain Kunzite's rank and that would mean his death. Whilst he outclassed Nephrite in magics, Kunzite could not be sure that he would not try other means. He needed someone loyal to him. Youma could not be trusted. He needed Zoisite and Kunzite hated himself for it.

"What about Nephrite?" Zoisite asked suddenly, realising that his lover had not made a move against the auburn haired king since he had found out.

Kunzite smiled and Zoisite shivered. There was something about Kunzite's demeanour that unsettled him.

"Queen Beryl moved the attack on the Moon Kingdom forward to a year's time. We are supposed to go to the Earth realm to get a feel for its defences and weaknesses. We will be leaving tonight."

Zoisite frowned, "What about Nephrite?" he repeated, a part of him angered that Kunzite was not going to kill the older king.

"Such impatience" Kunzite murmured almost fondly, "When will you ever learn?"

"But I don't understand. Aren't you going to kill him?"

Kunzite's smile widened at this, "No. You are."

* * *

"Me?" Zoisite whispered. He could literally feel the colour draining from his face as Kunzite stood, his gentleness vanishing in an instant.

"You are not afraid are you?"

"No, Kunzite-sama, but how can I possibly? He will kill _me_! Surely you don't want that!"

Kunzite shrugged, and turned away, "We leave tonight. I suggest you think things through whilst we are in the Earth realm."

"I don't understand" Zoisite said bitterly, "I thought you cared about me."

"Feelings have no place here. What we have is of mutual convenience" he met Zoisite's gaze and held it for several minutes before adding: "Just so we understand each other."

This is a test… it has to be… he wants to see if I am loyal enough to follow through his commands… 

"Understood," Zoisite managed to choke out, his mind racing with a curious mixture of relief and fear. He was relived that he could still have Kunzite-sama, even if it meant proving himself by killing Nephrite. Of course, this was not a problem. Zoisite was no fonder of the older king than Kunzite was; no… the problem was Beryl. She would be furious, if Zoisite killed him. The little king sighed. He knew he would do anything to prove himself to Kunzite, but even if it cost him his life?

There had to be a way to kill Nephrite without Queen Beryl ever knowing that it was him. Zoisite chewed nervously on his lower lip as he thought. Strategy had never been one of his strong points. A surprise attack might not be such a bad idea… Kunzite didn't say he had to do it right away. Perhaps whilst in the Earth Realm Zoisite could persuade Kunzite otherwise.

"So we leave tonight?" Zoisite questioned uncertainly as Kunzite turned away from him, signalling that the conversation was over.

Kunzite nodded, "You can treat that as a test, too, if you like. You can show me how much of what I have taught you managed to sink in. Of course, I do expect perfection. I will not accept anything less."

"Yes, Kunzite-sama" Zoisite left the bedroom quickly, struggling to hold back tears that had been threatening to spill forth since he had awakened. He could still feel Kunzite's lips pressed against his own, but Zoisite could also feel the iciness in that embrace. It lacked the warmth and passion that it had the first time… before Zoisite had betrayed him. Outwardly, nothing appeared to have changed. Kunzite still wanted him, but kept Zoisite at a distance. His teacher's eyes no longer held any warmth or, dare he say it, love in them.

If dying meant that Kunzite would look at him in the way he had when they were first together then Zoisite knew he would quite happily go to an early grave.

"Whatever it takes, Kunzite-sama, whatever it takes" Zoisite repeated to himself. No matter what the cost…


	12. Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve:

The Earth realm was very beautiful, Zoisite mused to himself as he attempted to walk at ease through the lush green gardens that made up the Earth Palace grounds. Security around the palace had been tight, but for a king of the Dark Kingdom, teleporting passed the guards had been no problem. His nails dug nervously into the palms of his hands as Zoisite passed yet more sentries. They looked at him with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity, but as the young king was bedecked in the royal blue guardian's uniform, they thought nothing of him as he brushed by.

Kunzite-sama had been adamant that Zoisite prove himself and thus the young king had set about to prove just how trusting Endymion was and how foolish to have such lax security. He smirked, though he had never met the Prince, Zoisite had heard a lot about him. Endymion was really quite a fool if these rumours were true. Mixing with the lunarians was unwise and getting engaged to one was an even bigger mistake, especially as the people of Earth already resented the Moon Kingdom's rule.

Turning a corner, Zoisite found himself outside the marble doors to the palace. There were two burly guards outside, but they quickly allowed Zoisite to enter, not even asking him his name! The king's smirk became a triumphant grin as he stepped inside and found himself inside the vast marble hallway. Twin staircases led to the palace's east and west wings and three different corridors sectioned off from the reception hallway. Servants hurried passed, all ignoring the king. Zoisite chose the corridor on his left. According to the maps that Kunzite-sama had shown him, the two remaining options led to the servants' quarters and the kitchens. The way Zoisite had opted to go led to the study and vast ballrooms.

"_But I don't understand. Aren't you going to kill him?" _

_Kunzite's smile widened at this, "No. You are."_

Zoisite's cheery demeanour clouded over as he recalled Kunzite's words. He still had to prove himself by killing Nephrite and managing to stay alive himself. This, in itself, was an impossible task. Even if he did manage to somehow kill the second king, Beryl would be beside herself with fury and invoking Beryl's wrath was not advisable under any circumstances. Surely Kunzite-sama knew this? Zoisite wondered to himself. Jadeite and Nephrite were also assigned to the Earth Realm, though their exact missions were unclear to the forth king.

As Zoisite turned yet another corner in the endless tunnel of corridors that made up the Earth palace, he thought about enlisting Jadeite's help in disposing of Nephrite. The blonde king owed him anyway and he could always blame the second king's death on Jadeite if Beryl did find out. A feral smirk curved his lips at this idea and, so involved in his scheming was he, that Zoisite didn't notice that he was about to knock into someone coming the other direction until it was too late.

Of course, apologies were not in his nature and, certainly, Zoisite was not going to apologise to a dirty human and he made to simply push passed when the human in question grabbed his arm, halting him in his tracks.

Zoisite froze, making to conjure an ice crystal in his left hand when he recognised the youth and the smile died on his lips. Endymion...

Prince Endymion was a handsome man, Zoisite supposed, in a boyish and, somewhat, naive way. He had jet-black hair which, in Zoisite's opinion, was cut too short and his midnight blue eyes were nothing like the coolness and coldness of Kunzite's and the Prince lacked the presence and air of someone in such a position. He was not very tall, only just standing shoulder to shoulder with Zoisite, though the young king was offset by the appearance of the man and tensed, as though ready for a fight.

"I'm sorry" the apology that came from Endymion's mouth astounded Zoisite and for a moment he could do nothing but stare until Endymion laughed nervously and added: "You are one of the new guards, right?"

"Yes" Zoisite could only reply, wondering why Endymion did not recognise him as one of the four Shitennou of the Dark Kingdom. Of course, the kings had never confronted Endymion directly, but Zoisite had expected that the Prince had heard of him at least! Obviously not...

"You are not what I was expecting" Endymion admitted next, "You're a lot...."

"Shorter?" Zoisite suggested acidly at this referral to his lithe build.

"I was going to say prettier" Endymion observed casually.

Zoisite couldn't help but laugh scornfully at this, "I didn't think the Prince of the Earth Kingdom would find his own sex preferable to the company of the Moon Princess."

Endymion smirked, "Don't flatter yourself too much, guardian, I was merely pointing out a fact though you couldn't hold a candle to Princess Serenity."

"I'm glad you think so" Zoisite sniped back haughtily, "To be compared to the Moon Kingdom filth would be an even bigger disservice."

Endymion shook his head and said gently, "So you think that way, too."

"Of course."

His sorrowful expression then turned into a smile as he looked up at Zoisite and said: "So, it is your first day?"

"What?"

Endymion's smile became a delighted grin, "Well no one else would dare bump into me and not apologise."

"Why not? And, for the record, you bumped into me."

Zoisite cursed under his breath as he said this. Light hearted jest with the Prince was one thing.... But he could give away who he really was if he grew too disrespectful. He lowered his gaze, preparing to utter a convincing apology knowing that if he were caught then Kunzite would think even less of him when Endymion laughed and clamped a hand down on his shoulder: "And you're the only one of my guard with enough front to answer me back. I like that. I get sick of everyone creeping around me and apologising even when I am in the wrong."

"Would you rather that they were all disrespectful?"

"No. I just think that there could be some middle ground" Endymion admitted, "Anyway, I don't believe that we have been properly introduced. You know who I am, but what's your name?"

"Zoisite."

"A gemstone?" Endymion frowned, "Strange, but somehow fitting. Which regiment are you from?"

Zoisite shrugged, and grinned, "I just walked in."

Endymion laughed again, "And you have a sense of humour. I like that" then his gaze darkened, "Now tell me the truth, Dark Kingdom scum."

* * *

Kunzite secretly loved the Earth realm. As he strolled through the vast Sakura gardens of the Earth Palace he marvelled at the simplistic beauty of the kingdom, pausing occasionally to stare at the exquisite creatures that hurried past him.

The Princesses would giggle at the attention he paid them and with his glamour spell in place, Kunzite would appear to be a noble; handsome yet forgettable and they would go on their way quite happily and not give him a second thought.

The mission was to get a clearer idea of the defences and weaknesses of the Earth Kingdom's palace, but after careful years of planning Kunzite knew all this anyway. No, it was simply Beryl wanting them to spy on Prince Endymion. Kunzite had never been one for tolerating his Queen's obsession with the Prince and had sent Zoisite into the palace itself whilst he supposedly researched the security aspect. The younger king welcomed the chance to show up Prince Endymion and did not suspect that Kunzite merely wanted to be rid of him.

Zoisite was now doting, nearly unbearably so and had Kunzite not needed him so much then he would have killed him for his betrayal. Zoisite was an ally, but also a useful tool, but, like most things, he could out grow his usefulness.

Still, when Kunzite heard screaming coming from the direction of the palace, he knew that his Sakura was somehow involved and hurriedly teleported to the scene.

He reappeared among a group of courtiers, who were too busy watching the scene unfolding before their eyes to notice a Dark Kingdom Tennou appear in their midst. Being taller than most, Kunzite was able to look over their heads and see what all the commotion was about and his heart sank.

In the middle of the circle that had formed around them were Zoisite and a black haired youth who Kunzite knew to be Prince Endymion. Both had swords drawn and the clash of metal rung loudly in Kunzite's ears. Every now and again, Zoisite would get the upper hand of this fight and then Endymion would manage to pull it back, ordering his guard not to interfere when it looked like he was losing.

Now Kunzite was in two minds as to what to do about this. His first reaction was to teleport behind the obnoxious twit and stab Endymion whilst his back was turned. Of course, Kunzite knew that Zoisite would never forgive him if he did that and to aggravate the Sakura would not be in his interests. He could wait and see how the battle turned out. This, Kunzite dismissed in a moment. If he did that then the chances were that Endymion or his guards would kill Zoisite. The final option, which seemed to be the most desirable, would be to simply teleport himself and Zoisite from the scene and Kunzite did just that. Smirking that the sudden disappearance of his foe meant that Endymion sprawled in the dirt at his guard's feet.

The teleport took both student and teacher back to the security of the Sakura gardens and once there Kunzite felt the full wrath of his fiery lover.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Zoisite all but screamed at him, forgetting that this was his beloved Kunzite-sama that he was shouting at. "I could have killed the bastard!"

"Exactly" Kunzite explained coolly, "And would Queen Beryl have thanked you for that?"

Hurriedly chastened, Zoisite lowered his gaze to the ground, "No" he admitted slowly, "But what else could I do?"

Kunzite shrugged and turned away; bitterly disappointed that Zoisite's cover should be blown by someone as stupid as Endymion. Had he taught the younger man nothing?

Zoisite sensed that Kunzite was angry with him and dared to gaze up at his lover with a pair of sorrowful green eyes. "I'm sorry, Kunzite-sama" he said plaintively.

The silver haired king sighed. He was, in truth, glad to have an excuse to return to the Dark Kingdom as they could hardly carry on with their reconnaissance work now that every palace guard in fifty miles would be looking for them.

"We should return to the Dark Kingdom" he decreed at length, and then added, much to Zoisite's horror, "Queen Beryl will be expecting us to report to her."

Without giving his student time to argue, Kunzite quickly teleported them to the Dark Kingdom.

* * *

Queen Beryl was the picture of lambent fury when she learned of what had happened in the Earth Realm. For ten minutes at least Kunzite could only kneel humbly before her whilst she raved and screamed at him, whilst frying at least two dozen of her Youma court in the process.

Sensibly, Kunzite had decided that Zoisite should wait in their castle home whilst he reported to Beryl and explained the unfortunate incident that had taken place in the palace. The little king was only too happy to comply with this and Kunzite congratulated himself on the decision, as Zoisite's presence would only anger Beryl the more.

Even Kunzite found himself trembling as Beryl continued to rage and he shuddered at the thought of what the Queen would do to Zoisite if she took it upon herself to punish the young king for his actions.

Of course, Beryl did wish to see him disciplined and Kunzite hurriedly assured her that he would hand down a suitable punishment. Satisfied, Beryl managed to gain a hold on her temper and decided to address the failed mission in more detail.

Kunzite explained, as he had done a thousand times, the security of the palace and grounds and Queen Beryl listened intently, though it was becoming all the more obvious that she had already determined what to do where the Earth Realm was concerned. This filled Kunzite with a sense of unease and his fears were quickly realised.

He finished addressing his Queen and dared to look up at her, seeing the steely determination in her eyes and not liking it one bit.

"Thank you, Kunzite. Your information has proved quite useful, despite your wayward student's behaviour. Taking into account your findings I have decided that we will attack the Earth in a week's time."

Kunzite went pale at her words, "A week? My Queen, I cannot advise it. The troops are--"

"Silence! Do not question my decisions! Metallia is almost at full strength and if we attack now then we can catch them off-guard."

_And stop Endymion and Serenity's wedding _Kunzite thought darkly, though he knew it would be suicide to mention this.

So he did the only thing that he could do which was to bow before his Queen and agree with her absurd plan.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

A/N::crawls: I know its been a long time since I updated this and I'm really sorry. Here's chapter thirteen - enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Thirteen:

"I had thought" Kunzite said slowly as he paced up and down in front of Zoisite, allowing no emotion into his voice as he spoke as it made his mood that much harder to gage, "That you were the forth Tennou of the Dark Kingdom. You are supposed to be calculating, ruthless, a great swordsman, unfeeling as though you are made of ice and, instead, I find you lowering yourself to trading blows with the Earth Kingdom's Prince."

Zoisite studied the tips of his boots, knowing better than to say anything to defend himself. He had acted foolishly, but he was still only a student and Endymion had wrong footed him by guessing that he was from the Dark Kingdom. Of course, giving his real name hadn't been the smartest move, but Kunzite-sama seemed to forget that Zoisite had never been to the Earth Realm before and, as much as he hated to admit to it, he hadn't been a Tennou for as long as the rest of them.

He meekly pointed out this fact to Kunzite, causing the older man to pause directly in front of him.

"Then you must learn quickly. Beryl will not tolerate such failures again."

Zoisite shrugged and looked away. What did he care what Beryl thought anyway? She couldn't kill any of them just before the war and they both knew this.

The war… it would begin in a week's time and already Zoisite was thinking of how best to use this to work towards his own personal goal; killing Nephrite. Kunzite-sama was definitely right about having to learn quickly. Endymion had always been an incompetent fool and had only earned the title of the Prince of Earth by the sheer luck of his bloodline and, as it was, he risked losing it all for that blonde and rather clumsy Moon Princess. To have Endymion humiliate him in such a way was unforgivable and Zoisite already had thoughts about Endymion befalling a similar 'accident' as Nephrite when the final battle came.

"Kunzite-sama?" Zoisite ventured quietly when he realised that his lover had ceased berating him and was now standing by the window, staring out into the darkness of their Kingdom. The occasional flicker of lightening danced across the blackened sky and Zoisite couldn't help but shudder as he edged nervously to Kunzite's side.

The Ice King did not react when Zoisite snuggled up beside him and the younger King gazed up at him, biting his lip when he saw the concerned frown upon Kunzite's face. He feared for the Dark Kingdom, Zoisite knew. Kunzite feared that the war was coming too quickly and that Metallia wasn't ready. If the Silver Millennium destroyed them… Zoisite shivered and pressed against Kunzite, and the older man subconsciously wrapped an arm around him. For a few blissful seconds Zoisite closed his eyes and leaned further into this contact, reminiscing the same sort of calm he had felt when they had first slept together. The morning when he had woke up in Kunzite's arms simply because he wanted to be there and not because of his want for rank and power.

"Do not think I have forgotten your own mission" Kunzite's voice broke through his revue and Zoisite felt him pull away.

"My mission" he repeated weakly.

"When we go to the Moon," Kunzite said slowly, as he walked towards the door leading into their own private chambers, "When we go to the Moon we will be the Shitennou for the last time. If Nephrite returns then I will consider your life forfeit for his."

"Kunzite-sama!" Zoisite couldn't help but cry out, but his lover paid him no heed.

Would he truly kill him? Did Zoisite really mean nothing to Kunzite? But the older man had saved his life! Still Zoisite had suspected as much but to have it confirmed in that way… Then why did he still want to prove himself? He… he loved Kunzite-sama and wanted desperately for the older man to return his feelings. Wasn't proving his loyalty by denouncing rank in return for staying at Kunzite's side enough? Zoisite supposed not.

Scowling in defiance at Kunzite's retreating form, Zoisite teleported from their quarters in a flurry of Sakura petals.

* * *

Jadeite sighed to himself, running once hand through his short blonde hair whilst he nursed a glass of brandy in the other. With the battle fast approaching, Beryl had been especially tetchy and had incinerated a good proportion of the Youma Court when Jadeite had informed her that his division of the army needed a little longer than a week to prepare for war against the Earth. Of course, on seeing their charred bodies, Jadeite had quickly backtracked and explained that the army would be ready in three days time. How Jadeite was going to turn the vicious back stabbing creatures into a invincible fighting force in three days time, he did not know.

"You won't find the answer in the bottom of a glass you know"

Jadeite scowled, subconsciously gripping the glass tighter when he recognised the slightly feminine tenor of the newly appointed forth Tennou. Turning around, Jadeite saw his former pupil leaning casually against his open bedroom door, twirling a lock of his dark blonde hair around a slender finger, a sly smile flickering across his lips when he detected the irritation that his mere presence had caused his fellow king.

"What do you want, Zoisite?" Jadeite grated out, wishing sorely that his plan to kill the younger man had succeeded after all. Zoisite was the epitome of annoying, after all.

His reply, however, was not what Jadeite had been expecting.

"Your help, of course."

Jadeite had, at first, thought that Zoisite had come to get revenge upon him for trying to kill him, but wanting his help?

"My help?" Jadeite did his best to appear disinterested, but in actually fact what Zoisite was saying intrigued him greatly and he, subconsciously, found himself willing Zoisite to hurry up and explain.

Zoisite crossed the room, taking to pacing up and down in front of Jadeite as he always did when he was nervous. "Queen Beryl has ordered an attack upon the Earth Kingdom in a week's time" Zoisite started, "Kunzite-sama, of course, will be leading the army into battle and against the palace itself."

Jadeite nodded, pretending that this didn't surprise him but, in actual fact, he had not even heard Beryl's plan as of yet. He could only assume that Kunzite had told Zoisite this, although he wouldn't put it passed the little rat to lie to him.

Still, despite his curiosity, the little king's presence and constant pacing was starting to irritate the blonde so he snapped, "Is this conversation actually going anywhere, Zoisite?"

Zoisite ceased pacing, suddenly agitated as he replied, "I want you to tell Nephrite that Beryl-sama has ordered that he tackle the security on the eastern wing of the palace."

Jadeite frowned, "But that's the servants wing? Surely they will have all fled the fighting."

"That's my point."

"Then why send him there?"

Zoisite shot Jadeite a cruel grin and conjured a perfect, and deadly, shard of ice in his left hand, letting it fly from his fingertips and strike the wall behind Jadeite's head.

So he planned to kill Nephrite. Somehow this didn't surprise Jadeite in the slightest, but Zoisite was considerably weaker than the second Tennou and Jadeite secretly feared of being a party to this attempt on Nephrite's life.

Still, letting none of this on, Jadeite said instead, "And why should I help you?"

"Because I didn't tell Kunzite-sama about your part to play in our attempt to overthrow him"

"How do I know that you won't after Nephrite is dead? How do I know that I can trust you?"

Zoisite gave him another cruel cat grin, "You don't."

Jadeite stood, slowly walking towards the younger man, crowding him and forcing him back against the closed door, "Why doesn't Kunzite kill him?" Jadeite paused, searching through his memory and knowledge of the first king and smirking when he found the answer, "He's given you an ultimatum hasn't he? If you don't kill Nephrite then he will kill you."

"No--"

Jadeite shrugged, "You can deny it if you like, but it won't help your case. If you fail then Nephrite will discover that I helped you and I'll be dead. If you succeed then I will automatically go up a rank, thus making myself a target for your next hierarchy ambitions and then I'll be dead."

Zoisite pouted and stamped his foot on the ground, a childish act really, Jadeite thought to himself, yet he had to admit that he liked Zoisite a lot more than he liked Nephrite and was inclined to agree to help Zoisite with his plan, though it would be best to let the younger man sweat for a moment or two long about it first and to perhaps get something more out of it, too.

"What if I promise not to kill you?" Zoisite offered.

Jadeite shook his head, "Can you keep that?"

"Probably not" Zoisite admitted craftily, "But as I said before, if you don't help me then you know what I'll do."

Jadeite silently considered his threats for a few moments, but he realised that they truly meant nothing to him. He had heard rumour that the Dark Kingdom was not strong enough to take on the Earth and the Moon. If that were true then they would all be dead by the end of the week and any power or rank that were to be gained by helping Zoisite was meaningless. There was, however, one favour that Jadeite could think to ask, though it meant potential humiliation and embarrassment on his behalf.

"I'll tell Nephrite to go to the east wing of the palace" he agreed, "But on one condition."

"You are in no position to make demands of me."

Jadeite shrugged again and answered casually, "I'll be dead if you fail and dead if you succeed so any demand I make for selfish reasons will be pointless."

Zoisite looked up, obviously slightly intrigued by where this conversation was heading. "What do you want of me?"

"Nothing. You said that Kunzite is leading the Youma army. There is a particular Youma, Tetis, whom I believe you've met. If you have any sway with Kunzite, have him position her away from the worst of the fighting."

"Why would you care about a single Youma?"

"That does not concern you."

Zoisite, to Jadeite's surprise, decided to leave out any teasing that the blonde had expected would come with his display if obvious affection towards one of Beryl's strongest Youma. Jadeite, however, was at a loss as to how exactly to explain the empathy between himself and Tetis. Their relationship wasn't sexual, simply more of a mutual understanding and for that reason, if there were any chance at all that she could be spared, Jadeite wanted to make sure that she was given it.

"I'll speak to Kunzite-sama" Zoisite confirmed, suddenly agitated for reasons that Jadeite was unable to fathom. He had at least expected a snide remark from the little king.

Then without another word, Zoisite teleported away in a cloud of Sakura petals, leaving Jadeite even more bemused than before.

"Zoisite" he whispered to himself, "What are you _really_ up too?"

* * *

Kunzite winced at the slam of the bedroom door that signalled Zoisite's return. Lost in his own thoughts, Kunzite had barely been aware of the time that had passed since his lover left him in a storm of Sakura fury.

Zoisite's temper, however, seemed to have calmed slightly as he crossed the room and sat himself down on Kunzite's lap, peering at the map of the Earth Kingdom's palace with interested.

_"When we go to the Moon we will be the Shitennou for the last time. If Nephrite returns then I will consider your life forfeit for his."_

Of course, Kunzite hadn't meant these words. In truth, his own feelings for Zoisite would not allow him to harm the younger king, but Zoisite had to understand that he did not get to being the first of the Shitennou without hardening his heart against such feelings just as Nephrite had to understand that any attempts to usurp him could not be allowed to go unpunished.

"What are you doing?" Zoisite asked softly, drawing Kunzite from his thoughts.

"Looking at our strategy for the battle" Kunzite answered him. With Zoisite's reappearance, Kunzite went to shove the map aside and concentrate on greeting his lover properly when Zoisite said suddenly:

"Have you decided upon where to position Beryl-sama's Youma?"

Kunzite frowned, and indicated on the map where he had marked on each one in turn. To this Zoisite shook his head and pointed to one in particular "I'd station her here" he placed a slender fingertip on a point on the map, far away from the main battle, "That way she can make sure that the enemy don't manage to sneak up on us."

Kunzite turned sharply to look at Zoisite. His lover had never been interested in the strategy of the battle before, let alone to start making suggestions. Still, he had to admit, that Zoisite's words made sense and he decided to heed the younger man's advice. What was one Youma less after all?

Marking this change on the map, Kunzite leaning forward to press a hungry kiss to Zoisite's lips, deciding to spend a few hours with his beautiful lover rather than concern himself with the impending battle.

* * *


	14. Chapter Fourteen

Fire and Ice

Written by: Shari

Beta Read by: SailorTerra

A/N: I'm so sorry for keeping you all waiting so long for this. After this there will be only one more chapter to go, which I am drafting out at the moment. R and R!

Chapter Fourteen:

Zoisite, much as he hated to admit it, had never been into the heart of a real battle before. True he had heard the screams of the dead and dying, smelt the ever growing tide of blood and his sword had embedded itself in many enemies, but he had not been in the centre of such combat. As a junior soldier in Beryl's army he had been confined to the outskirts, either helping to guard their base camps or protecting the wounded as it was the will of his 'superiors' that their youngest, and most beautiful, soldier should remain unharmed.

Whilst this had partly frustrated Zoisite, he was also strangely glad of it. He had no desire to become involved with petty skirmishes with neighbouring planets. Especially not after he had painstakingly worked his way up the ranks, endured many an unworthy touch before reaching this point. The final battle between the Moon and the Dark Kingdom, and he was not just fighting in the battle; he was a Dark Kingdom Tennou no less.

The Earth had already fallen. Metallia's powers had blackened the hearts of its army and turned them against their Prince. As expected, Endymion had fled to the Moon and the safety of its Palace, but there would be no escape for him.

The Lunarian's, full of their own airs and graces, had thought it impossible that anyone would dare launch an attack upon their Silver Millennium and thus Metallia was easily able to break through their shields. Of course they had an army, but the men of the Moon Kingdom were weak and cowards at heart and, upon seeing the Youma alone, they turned and fled.

The women, however, were a different story. They would stand and fight and did so with a relentless ferocity. Leading them were the four Senshi who protected the Princess; the warriors of Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Venus.

When he had first laid eyes upon Sailor Venus leading her Senshi into the battle, Zoisite had been scornful of her, and had been hurriedly reprimanded by his senior Tennou.

"Just because they are women does not mean that we should underestimate them," Kunzite told him with perfect liquid calm, even when the first Youma fell to an enemy blade.

Zoisite saw the wisdom in his words but he couldn't assuage the wave of jealousy that washed over him when Kunzite's gaze lingered a little too long on the Senshi of Venus and he had stamped his foot in frustration and in an effort to gain Kunzite's attention once more he had pouted loudly and then promptly sent a ice crystal at the unprotected back of the Senshi. Unfortunately, her comrade, Sailor Mars, had seen this assault and her 'fire soul' had quickly melted the blade before it could strike home.

"You should never attack in anger," Kunzite said softly, ignoring the furious shouts coming from the Senshi.

Zoisite glowered under the glare that was directed his way before Kunzite's teleport took hold of them both and transported them from the immediate danger of the battle. Reappearing back behind their own lines, Zoisite stepped out of the energy shield that Kunzite had created determined to remain strong, despite his lover's harsh words. Why was it that everything he did to earn Kunzite-sama's respect ended in him feeling more of a fool? Zoisite clenched his fists at his sides and grit his teeth. He _hated _being made a fool of.

The roar of the battle still in his ears, Zoisite moved further away from Kunzite as the older man called aside a couple of Beryl's stronger Youma and began issuing orders for the next wave of assault upon the Moon Kingdom's palace.

_Even now, Kunzite-sama, you still refuse to acknowledge me as anything more than an instrument of your pleasure…_

Keeping it discreet, Zoisite started to make his way backwards, away from Kunzite's side and towards the blonde Tennou issuing orders to his own Youma. Jadeite stood out in the sea of writhing beasts baying for the Silver Millennium's blood and easily spotted Zoisite's appearance, thus dismissing his Youma quickly as the younger man stepped up beside him.

"It's been done" Jadeite murmured as their shoulders touched, ignoring all formalities when addressing his fellow king.

"Good" Zoisite took a deep breath as tried to slow the wild beating of his heart, "Wait a few minutes and then tell Kunzite-sama that I've gone to the west wing of the palace."

He turned to leave, but Jadeite caught his wrist, and forced him to halt, "Zoisite? I sent Nephrite to the east wing. What are you planning?"

Zoisite smirked wickedly; "I've done what you asked of me without question. I had hoped you would do likewise."

Jadeite frowned and released his grip, "I don't want your feud with Nephrite to jeopardise the battle, that is all."

Zoisite laughed softly and invoked a teleport to take him to the east wing of the palace, "It won't. Trust me."

Jadeite's frown deepened as the younger man departed. Why did he have the feeling that there was a side to Zoisite that he had yet to see? Calling out to his Youma that he had something to take care of and leaving things to them, Jadeite hurried off in search of Kunzite, who had become seemingly lost in the tide of Youma that poured forth towards the palace gates.

Jadeite would do as Zoisite instructed and then would follow him and would watch the show. Things were starting to get very interesting.

* * *

Kunzite paused, as the battle raged around him, only to wipe the sweat from his brow before conjuring up yet another energy sword and embedding it into the back of a fleeing soldier. Occasionally he could still hear the cries from the fighting Senshi to signal that they were still in the battle. Privately, Kunzite had to admire their courage. Their kingdom was falling around their ears and still they fought on. They would never surrender… and nor would the Dark Kingdom.

With this in mind, Kunzite called to the Youma nearest him to concentrate the majority of their attacks on the four girls. If they could lay the Senshi's bodies out before the Queen and Princess then, perhaps, they would give up Endymion and the Dark Kingdom would win this war.

The Youma hurried to heed his commands, and, once again, Kunzite teleported away from the main battle, reappearing on a small outcrop where he could oversee his troops without making himself a direct target in case one of the Senshi became too cocky.

Creating a light blue energy shield around him, Kunzite now scanned the battlefield for Zoisite. He hadn't seen the younger man leave and this angered him slightly. What was Zoisite playing at this time? How could Kunzite hope to protect him if he did not know where the other man was?

Yes, Kunzite did want to protect him and he felt something, a small stab of fear in the back of his mind, for Zoisite when he failed to find him. Had he already fallen? Kunzite felt sure that he would have felt it had he done. Despite his words and threats, Kunzite was merely testing the younger king. Feelings could lead one to ruin and this was a lesson that Kunzite had learned through watching the mistakes of others, Beryl included. Zoisite had to learn this quickly and then, when he had mastered his emotions, Kunzite knew that it would be safe and appropriate for himself to allow Zoisite to see the true depths of his own feelings that he had kept buried beneath his icy exterior for so long now.

Kunzite closed his eyes, attempting to sense the younger man's energy patterns when he felt another move, right beside him.

Jadeite leapt backwards, almost losing his balance completely in his attempt to avoid an energy sword that was directed directly at his face. Scowling he griped his displeasure at this under his breath, but Kunzite heard this anyway and smirked slightly before demanding to know why the blonde had left his post.

"I was concerned" Jadeite said, not meeting Kunzite's steely gaze, "About ten minutes ago Nephrite left the battlefield. Then Zoisite followed him."

A part of this didn't exactly ring true to Kunzite's ears and the way Jadeite was shuffling nervously, putting all his weight on one foot and then the other heightened his suspicions, but Kunzite was sure, that the part about Zoisite leaving the battle was true. Zoisite had admitted on many occasions how he was looking forward to vengeance against Prince Endymion and Kunzite dearly hoped that the little one hadn't decided upon exacting this revenge before Beryl managed to claim the Earth Prince as her own.

"Where did he go?" Kunzite asked, keeping his voice low.

"To the west wing of the palace" was the answer that he was given.

Kunzite nodded and ordered Jadeite to keep an eye on things here. Without waiting for a response, Kunzite promptly teleported from the scene.

Getting to the west wing proved easier than Kunzite had first thought. With most of the battle being at the heart of the palace and the surrounding grounds, servants and soldiers had long since deserted both wings and thus he was able to teleport there without much trouble. Of course they had not yet breeched the palace itself and, by the west wing, Kunzite could only assume that Jadeite meant the west wing grounds, or at least he hoped he did.

Why Zoisite had gone there, Kunzite did not know, but he was furious that he had allowed himself such concern that he had broken away from his duty to go and look for the youngest Tennou.

What possessed Zoisite to leave his safety to begin with, also plagued Kunzite's mind and he, as he scanned along the boundaries, felt himself beginning to lose his temper, something that almost never happened and something that he would never outwardly show.

_There_

The foolish little Sakura was standing alone, completely exposed to any kind of attack that might come his way, in the middle of a glen, similar to the one that they had been in the last time that they had visited the earth realm. However, the aura in the air was different. Kunzite could feel some tension and an apparent fear radiating from his younger lover, thus he held his temper in check and called out to him.

Zoisite turned, his eyes narrowed and his hands clenched at his sides, his left one clutching an ice dagger tightly in one hand.

"What are you doing here?" Kunzite demanded softly, "Jadeite explained that you deserted your post" he added as an afterthought.

Zoisite raised his head slightly to meet Kunzite's gaze, but still did not speak.

Kunzite did not understand this reaction. Over the course of the time that they had spent together, he had come to recognise every single one of Zoisite's conflicting emotions and moods, and now… he was completely at a loss. Then Zoisite spoke: "I'm sorry."

"Sorry? Sorry for wha--" Kunzite broke off mid-sentence, his eyes widening in shock and horror as Zoisite raised his hand holding the ice crystal and embedded the weapon deep in his own chest.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

Writen by: Shari

Beta Read: SailorTerra

Chapter Fifteen:

"_What are you doing here?" Kunzite demanded softly, "Jadeite explained that you deserted your post" he added as an afterthought. _

_Zoisite raised his head slightly to meet Kunzite's gaze, but still did not speak. _

_Kunzite did not understand this reaction. Over the course of the time that they had spent together, he had come to recognise every single one of Zoisite's conflicting emotions and moods, and now… he was completely at a loss. Then Zoisite spoke: "I'm sorry."_

"_Sorry? Sorry for wha--" Kunzite broke off mid-sentence, his eyes widening in shock and horror as Zoisite raised his hand holding the ice crystal and embedded the weapon deep in his own chest._

For Kunzite time itself seemed to have stopped at that precise moment when Zoisite fell to the ground, still clutching the hilt of the ice crystal that was deeply embedded in his chest. His field of vision narrowed until all he could see was his Sakura lying on the ground, bleeding… dying…

This last thought snapped any kind of restraint that Kunzite may have had and he raced forwards, forgetting about the battle and even, for the time being, Beryl.

Kneeling down beside his lover, Kunzite placed his hands on Zoisite's slender shoulders with the intention of moving him, but Zoisite's moan of pain stopped him in his tracks. It was then that Kunzite saw the look in his eyes. Shining through the pain was something else; a vicious source of triumph and Kunzite did not like this look one little bit.

"Why?" Kunzite snarled out, shaking the smaller frame beneath him despite the cry of agony that came from Zoisite at such treatment.

"It was… the only way…" Zoisite managed to grit out, "The only way I could see if you cared more for me than just a source of pleasure. I had to know… I had to know if you were truly that cold to me because you hated me. I see that I was proved wrong. I am glad. I wouldn't want to die knowing that you hated me, Kunzite-sama."

"Baka" Kunzite clenched his right hand into a fist as he struggled to resist striking the dying Tennou. What foolishness was this? Surely Zoisite should have known that he…

He didn't Kunzite knew. He had never given any indication as to his own feelings for the youngest king. Hells, Kunzite hadn't even been sure of them himself until this moment. This moment when it was too late.

And it was too late, Kunzite knew. Even before he felt Zoisite shudder in his arms, even before the hand clutching onto the ice crystal gently released its grip and fell limply at his side. His eyes suddenly lost that sense of triumph and became dark and empty. He was gone. He was gone and Kunzite hadn't been able to give him any words of comfort, not even at his end.

_Baka… _

His final word to his lover had been to call him stupid, to let him know how much of a fool he was.

Kunzite inhaled deeply and allowed the Sakura's body to fall back to the ground as he choked on a sob. He would not break down. He would not show any weakness. What was the point now? When Zoisite was gone.

"Kunzite?" he looked around to see Jadeite watching this display. The blonde's face was a picture of utter shock and disbelief and Kunzite hated it. He didn't want anyone to see him this way. He didn't want anyone to see him so weak…

"Go. Away." He grit out but Jadeite did not move. He could not move until Kunzite lashed out, an energy sword narrowly missing embedding itself in the third king's shoulder.

"Go away!"

Jadeite's eyes widened and, after giving several minutes pause, he did as Kunzite requested.

Now that he was alone, Kunzite drew in a shuddering breath as he wrapped his arms around Zoisite and then stood, cradling the body of his lover in his arms before teleporting back to their chambers.

Materialising in a flash of red light, Kunzite set Zoisite down in their bed. His hand then moved to the

Sakura's face, brushing some wisps of coppery hair from his eyes and then moving lower to touch his cold cheek.

_"It was… the only way… The only way I could see if you cared more for me than just a source of pleasure. I had to know… I had to know if you were truly that cold to me because you hated me. I see that I was proved wrong. I am glad. I wouldn't want to die knowing that you hated me, Kunzite-sama."_

_"Baka"_

Even now, even now that his lover lay dead before his eyes, Kunzite could not bring himself to shed a single tear. He was the most powerful of the Shitennou. He was the Ice King and would not show such weakness.

The battle… Kunzite withdrew his hand. His place was leading the remaining Tennou. How could he have forgotten his duty?

He couldn't do it. He couldn't leave Zoisite. Each time he made to teleport away, something held him back. A memory, a vague recollection of the time that they had shared. He just couldn't abandon his lover, not in death as he had in life.

_I wouldn't want to die knowing that you hated me, Kunzite-sama_

"Zoisite" Kunzite whispered, inhaling shakily as these words, the final words that his lover spoke. "I didn't hate you," he murmured fondly as he stared down at the little man, "You were very dear to me, Zoisite. More so than you'll ever know."

That was it, Kunzite reminded himself. Zoisite had never known. He had never known how much Kunzite had come to care about him and now he never would. He hadn't died knowing that Kunzite hated him, but he hadn't known that Kunzite had loved him, either and this hurt more so than any wound.

Kunzite simply stood stock-still at this realisation and even time itself appeared to have ground to a halt. He couldn't have moved, even if he wanted too. How could he with the realisation that he had failed his lover in the end?

* * *

Beryl was in a frenzy. The Senshi, together with the Princess and Endymion, had retreated to the Moon, leaving her Youma to fight what remained of the Earth army. This opposition was rapidly diminishing in size with each passing moment but her Youma were now caught up in a blood lust and even Jadeite and Nephrite were having trouble keeping them at bay. No amount of Beryl's shouting could get through to the beasts.

Yet what had angered her more than this was the fact that Zoisite and Kunzite were nowhere in sight. She couldn't even trace their aura in the Earth realm at all. So, very reluctantly, Beryl had returned to the Dark Kingdom once more with the intention of making them pay for this kind of insubordination.

The scene that she was met with, however, when she surveyed her kingdom through the eyes of her Queen, was very different.

It was obvious from the onset that Zoisite would fall. The youngest and most inexperienced king would not have been able to survive a battle on this scale, and so Beryl had known from the beginning. Still, he was one of her favourite servants and to see him lying so still upon Kunzite's bed, it would have tugged at her heart had she one. Instead her face creased up into a frown of annoyance that his death should be enough to tear Kunzite from his post.

Then she noted that fact that Kunzite's right hand was clasped tightly around Zoisite's own, that he was leaning over the younger man to gently shut his eyes and then, to Beryl's fury, press a kiss to the dead king's forehead.

Now, she had long since been aware that such a relationship had existed between them and Beryl had minded that much. After all they worked well as a team and Kunzite seemed to be able to keep a rein on Zoisite's furious temper. Thus she had been content to leave the matter be. Now this, on the other hand, was a completely different matter. That little rat, even in death, had made Kunzite defy a direct order; not to leave his post. This gave cause for her frown to turn into a twisted snarl of rage and Beryl blasted a direct summons into the first king's mind.

_Report to the throne room. Immediately._

Kunzite raised his head, giving the indication that he had heard his Queen, but did not choose to act upon her calling. Instead he settled at Zoisite's side once more.

_How dare he? How dare he defy me?_

To some extent, the first King had never truly obeyed her every command. Slight variations to her orders had not gone unnoticed, but were not punished simply because he was skilled at what he did. And powerful. Beryl knew that, if he so desired, he could turn upon her. Metallia also could not be trusted. If this war did not go her way then Beryl might be the one to suffer for it. She needed the Shitennou but, more importantly, she needed them onside. She needed to be able to control them. Jadeite and Nephrite she controlled through fear, Zoisite through Kunzite and Kunzite through empty promises. He would start to see through those, she knew. For years Beryl had sought another way to keep the strongest of them doing her bidding and now, at last, she had found it when it had gone; Zoisite.

She cast another poisonous glare at the dead king, angered that this way now was no longer an option for her. Beryl could not bring back the dead. She did not have that power. She could only take life away, not give it…unless…

Before, when a Tennou had fallen, their essence had been returned to the Dark Kingdom, trapped in the hellish world that they had chosen. Why else did the living here yearn for the Earth and Moon so? In death this did not change and Beryl, imbued with Metallia's powers, could sometimes hear an eco of these such essences wandering the halls and depths of the kingdom, searching for a way to freedom.

If she concentrated hard now, she could sense the same of the forth king. He was nearby, perhaps even at Kunzite's side. His raw agony was easy to detect. Most spirits had resigned themselves to their fate but not him. Not when he still had a reason to want to live. Beryl closed her eyes, extending her mind to call out to this reason, to tap in to his pain. She felt his suffering increase ten fold at her presence and a smile played across her lips at his cries.

As she made this connection, forcing his spirit to yield to her spell, the body of the man on the bed began to shimmer, much to Kunzite's horror, and then disappear, leaving behind a few petals in its wake.

He stood, anger and pain flashing across his features before Beryl's spell took hold and he crumpled to the floor.

He would not recall any of this, Beryl knew. All he would think, when he awoke, was that he became injured in battle and that his Queen teleported him here to heal and now expected him to join the other three Tennou as they took their battle to the Moon.

Beryl's spell was a simple one. One that gave a soul form. To all eyes other than her own, Zoisite would appear to be living and breathing, although even he would not know it. Because he was alive, to all that saw him, he would invoke a reaction upon whatever he touched unaware that the spell would take hold of anyone one who laid eyes on him.

Beryl smiled, pleased with her work. Zoisite would be unaware of his own death. He would remember nothing but she had the ability to cease the spell whenever and if she chose to. She could control her strongest king through threatening the life of his lover, his lover who was already dead.

* * *

_A thousand years later_

The sharp yell of his lover was enough to jolt Kunzite back into full wakefulness. He snapped open his eyes, struggling to gain some kind of grip on the situation that he now found himself in. He was back in the Dark Kingdom. Frowning, Kunzite ignored Zoisite's angry shouts and called up hazed images to the surface of his mind, trying to recall just how he had gotten here.

The battle… Beryl had taken her war to the Moon. She had killed Endymion and Princess Serenity in a fit of rage when the Prince rejected her. Seeing her daughter dead and her Kingdom destroyed, Queen Serenity had given her life whilst using the Ginzuishou to seal them away back in the Dark Kingdom once more.

The last thing that Kunzite could remember was the light of the Ginzuishou approaching rapidly. He could hear Zoisite and the others screams echoing in his mind, even now, before darkness had enveloped him.

Now the Dark Kingdom had been revived once more. The dead Queen's spell had been broken.

Kunzite pushed himself up, wincing at the jagged rocks that his palms pressed against in his efforts to regain his footing. His white hair hung in a tangled mass and obscured part of his vision. He raised a gloved hand and brushed this hair aside, detesting the fact that he looked this way and that others could see him like this.

Off to his left, Jadeite stood, in a similar dishevelled state. His head was cocked to one side slightly, a frown marring his face as he met Kunzite's gaze.

Kunzite opened his mouth to speak but could only manage a dry cough, which went unnoticed by the other Tennou.

Kunzite felt immense relief, although he did not outwardly show it, when he saw that Zoisite was also present. The Sakura was with Nephrite and the two of them were involved in a heated exchange, which ended with Zoisite poking his tongue out at the auburn haired king in a childish manner before uttering a cry of: "Kunzite-sama!" before racing to the older man's side.

With minor discomfort on Kunzite's part, he felt Zoisite wrap his arms around his waist and press his face to Kunzite's chest, breathing heavily on bare skin as he murmured that he was glad that his lover was here, too.

Feeling awkward, Kunzite placed his hands on Zoisite's shoulders and gently pushed him away. A pout started to form on the Sakura's lips until Kunzite enquired to know of this health.

"I'm fine, Kunzite-sama, thank you" he seemed ecstatic that Kunzite had asked this question, before throwing a glare in Nephrite's direction and adding:

"Well as fine as I can be considering I had to wake up to that oaf looking down at me."

"I was merely checking to see if you were alive" Nephrite grit out, "And, most unfortunately, you are."

For some reason this exchange made Kunzite uncomfortable and he announced that he was going to check his own quarters and suggested that the others do the same. Instantly Zoisite was at his side and

Kunzite called upon a teleport to take them back to his chambers.

Once there, he performed a brief inspection and found everything to be in order. Satisfied, he reached out and pulled Zoisite to him, pressing his lips to the little man's in a hungry kiss. After all, Beryl would wake up soon and, still fuming from her defeat, Kunzite knew that she would start looking to the Earth once more, eager to have her revenge.

* * *

Jadeite frowned as Zoisite and Kunzite made their leave. Nephrite also left, not speaking a word to the blonde, as he was also eager to check his own quarters.

Jadeite was not as keen. His mind ached as a result of the Ginzuishou's curse, but he could still recall those moments in the Earth Kingdom. Whatever spell had been forced upon his fellow kings, Jadeite appeared to have been spared.

"_Go away!"_

Zoisite lying dead in Kunzite's arms. That had been no dream. The little king had died that day. Beryl did not have the power to raise the dead, but her spells could manipulate the living and Jadeite had no intention of becoming enthralled by her games.

So he turned away. He cast any desires of comradeship, or even rivalry, with the other Tennou from his mind. To become involved in such a thing… that path would only lead to despair, Jadeite knew.

It would be better to feign ignorance, to isolate himself completely than play along with Beryl's game.

The end.

* * *

A/N: And so, after two years, I finally finished. I hope you enjoyed the concluding chapter. Massive thanks to my beta reader, SailorTerra and to everyone who read and reviewed Fire and Ice.


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